CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Committal Hearings

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many committal hearings were held in each of the last five years; and what estimate she has made of the total cost of committal hearings in each year.

Harriet Harman: In 2005-06 the number of committals for trial was 45,809 and that if cases sent for trial was 30,464.
	For the first six months of 2006-07 committals for trial are 22,353 and cases sent for trial are 14,579.
	The cost for committal hearings is estimated as follows:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2005-06 (full year) 9.5 
			 2006-07 (six months) 4.6

Compensation Act

Lembit �pik: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what estimate she has made of the number of chartered insurance practitioners who have ceased to provide small claims management services since the Compensation Act 2006 was introduced; and if she will make a statement.

Bridget Prentice: A full Regulatory Impact Assessment was published with the Compensation Bill and we will be closely monitoring the impact of the new regulatory regime on all relevant sectors including insurance. We anticipate some providers withdrawing from providing claims management services in advance of the full regime being introduced because they will not be able to meet the required standards. We plan to finalise this month the secondary legislation required to implement Part 2 of the Compensation Act, all of which will be fully commenced by April 2007.

Departmental IT

Mark Hoban: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs which of her Department's databases are  (a) wholly and  (b) partly operated by external organisations or individuals; and which organisations and individuals own those databases.

Vera Baird: Details of the Department's key database systems are as follows:
	 (a) Databases wholly operated by external organisations
	CaseMan
	FamilyMan
	Ediary
	Money Claim On Line
	Crest
	Juror
	Juror Summoning Bureau
	Exchanging Hearing Information By Internet Technology
	ProbateMan
	ARIA (Asylum and Immigration system)
	Service Upgrade Project (pilot)
	Funds Accounting System
	Receivership Accounting System
	Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal system
	Generic Appeals Processing System 2
	Mental Health Tribunal
	ETHOS(Employment Tribunal system)
	CLAIMS (Criminal Injuries and Compensation Panel system)
	MERIS (Public Guardianship system)
	ORACLE financials (General Ledger, Supplier database, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable)
	Local Fees database
	CHRIMSON (HR system)
	Occupational Health, Counselling and Screening Services
	Business Management System
	Magistrates Courts databases
	Libra application (pilot)
	Trust Accounting and Banking System
	BACCHUS (Bankruptcy case management system)
	Centralised Attachment of Earnings
	County Court Bulk Centre
	Commercial Court
	Electronic Records Management
	Management Information System
	Tax Tribunal Remuneration
	 (b) Databases partly operated by external organisations
	Decree Absolute System
	Parental Responsibility
	Supreme Court Costs Office System
	Wardship System
	Criminal Appeal Case Tracking User System
	Crown Office Information Network System
	Life Imprisonment Minimum Term
	ORACLE financials (Fixed assets)
	Payment of Legal Aid Remuneration
	Case Recording System
	As well as this list, other smaller database systems support local business areas. Details of these systems are not held centrally.
	In all instances where databases are either partly or wholly operated by external organisations, ownership of data resides with the Department.

Departmental IT

Mark Hoban: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs which databases operated by her Department are located  (a) wholly and  (b) partly outside the UK; and where each of those databases and parts of databases is located.

Vera Baird: The Department does not have any database systems located outside the UK.

Dismissal Hearings

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what estimate she has made of the average cost of a dismissal hearing in the most recent period for which an estimate is available.

Harriet Harman: Allowing for the time of the Crown court officer processing the application and notifying the prosecution and for judicial reading time and hearing any evidence, the likely time for a hearing would be in the region of one hour. In this event the cost of each application would be in the order of 920.00 excluding any legal aid cost implications.

Electoral Arrangements

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs why the Environment Agency has been given access to the full version of the electoral register.

Bridget Prentice: Access to the full version of the electoral register is necessary for the Environmental Agency in order to support its crime prevention and criminal law enforcement functions for environmental crimes. The Environmental Agency also has access to the full electoral register for security checks for employees and potential employees.

HM Land Registry

David Jones: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many attempts to gain unauthorised access to the computer system of HM Land Registry have  (a) been detected and  (b) succeeded in each of the last five years.

Bridget Prentice: There were no detected unauthorised attempts to gain access to Land Registry's computer system up to 2004. During 2004, one attempt was detected, in 2005, 36 attempts and, to date, during 2006, four attempts have been detected. None of these attempts at access have led to a breach in the integrity of the Land Register for England and Wales.

Islam and Muslim Affairs

Paul Goodman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what arrangements her Department has in place for offering her advice on Islam and matters relating to Muslims; and who her advisers are on Islam and Muslim affairs.

Harriet Harman: Where appropriate officials in my Department provide advice on matters relating to Muslim communities.
	My Department has developed a relationship with the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies (a body within Oxford University). Although it has not advised me directly my officials it consulted it on numerous occasions.
	The Department for Communities and Local Government is the lead Department on domestic matters relating to Muslim communities and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is the lead department on international matters. Where appropriate officials seek advice from these Departments.

Islam and Muslim Affairs

Michael Gove: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how much  (a) financial support and  (b) support in kind her Department and its agencies have given to the Muslim Council of Britain in each year since 1997.

Harriet Harman: My Department has given no financial support or support in kind to the Muslim Council of Britain.

Medical Accidents

John Baron: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs pursuant to the answer of 11 July 2006,  Official Report, column 1733W, on medical accidents, what the total value of the Legal Services Commission's three year contract with Action Against Medical Accidents (AvMA) is; and whether the services provided by AvMA have been subject to quality assessment.

Vera Baird: AvMA have a three-year contract with Community Legal Service Direct to review the content of the advice leaflet 'Medical Accidents'. The total maximum value set out in the contract is 2,750.
	AvMA were the original authors of the leaflet. AvMA carry out a complete review of the leaflet once a year and a mini-review once every six months.
	An independent legal expert in this area of law quality checked the original draft and quality checks any amendments proposed by AvMA following their regular reviews of the leaflet.

MMR Vaccine

John Baron: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs pursuant to the answers of 29 June 2006,  Official Report, column 567W, on the MMR vaccine, if she will provide substantive answers based on the latest available information.

Vera Baird: I am unable to provide substantive answers pursuant to those given on the 29 June 2006. I will write to the hon. Gentleman as soon as the Legal Services Commission is able to disclose the information.

Part-time Judges

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will collate and publish a list of the names of part-time judges.

Harriet Harman: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 29 June 2006,  Official Report, column 566W, but would add that following this transfer of responsibility, my officials are currently working with the Directorate of Judicial Offices for England and Wales to collate and validate existing records on judicial office holders. Once this exercise is completed, the Judicial Communications Office will be looking at the feasibility of publishing more extensive lists on the judicial website (www.judiciary.gov.uk).

Special Educational Needs Tribunals

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the outcome was of all special educational needs tribunals heard in Somerset in each of the last five years.

Bridget Prentice: The following table summarises the outcomes of appeals made against Somerset local education authority since September 2001. It records the outcomes according to the years in which cases concluded, not the year in which they were registered.
	
		
			   Total  Withdrawn  Conceded  Upheld  Dismissed 
			 2005-06 34 13 3 13 5 
			 2004-05 25 9 3 9 4 
			 2003-04 31 7 5 14 5 
			 2002-03 33 11 3 15 4 
			 2001-02 14 7 1 5 1 
		
	
	The figures for appeals upheld includes appeals which were only partly upheld.

Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Bill

John Mann: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will amend the draft Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Bill so as to regulate bailiffs to protect the interests of vulnerable debtors.

Bridget Prentice: The draft Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Bill already contains measures that will protect the interests of vulnerable debtors by requiring all private bailiffs to hold a certificate issued by a county court judge. Certificates will only be issued subject to certain strict conditions, including proof of the applicant's ability to deal with vulnerable or potentially vulnerable client groups and subject to the outcome of a criminal record check.

WALES

Slave Trade

Hywel Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with appropriate bodies in Wales on the commemoration of the bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade; and if he will make a statement.

Peter Hain: In 2007 we will commemorate the 200(th) anniversary of the passage of the 1807 Abolition of the Slave Trade Act. This Act outlawed the slave trade throughout the British empire and made it illegal for British ships to be involved in the trade. The bicentenary will be marked with a series of events throughout the United Kingdom. It is important that the people of Wales are aware of its role in the slave trade, so the Wales Office is seeking to play an active role in the commemorations in Wales.
	I have already had discussions with the First Minister on how best Wales can mark this anniversary. My officials at the Wales Office will also be liaising with relevant organisations and I intend to host a Wales Office event next year to mark the bicentenary.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Brooke Marine Ltd

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry who is responsible for remaining contingent liabilities arising from the shipbuilding activities of Brooke Marine Ltd.

Malcolm Wicks: British Shipbuilders is not responsible for Brooke Marine Ltd.'s remaining contingent liabilities. As part of the privatisation process, records show that British Shipbuilders sold Brooke Marine Ltd., with liabilities, to Brooke Marine Holdings Ltd., on 9 May 1985.

Chlorofluorocarbons

Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what volume of chlorofluorocarbon gas was imported into the UK in 2005.

Malcolm Wicks: Overseas Trade Statistics suggest that about 1,377 tonnes of chlorofluorocarbons were imported into the UK in 2005.

Departmental Dress Code

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what his Department's policy is on the display of religious  (a) artefacts,  (b) symbols and  (c) dress by its staff; how many staff have been subject to disciplinary proceedings regarding this policy in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: There is no specific policy within the Department governing the display of religious artefacts, symbols or dress. The Department's equal opportunities and diversity policies set out the requirement for all staff to respect the dignity of others and to ensure that their behaviour does not cause offence. It is contrary to the policy of the Department to discriminate on grounds such as age, gender, gender reassignment, marital status, race, colour, ethnic origin or nationality, sexual orientation, disability, religion/belief or hours of work.
	The Department has recently established a Multi-Faith Advisory Group, which aim to:
	Help DTI treat fairly people of all faiths and none;
	Promote understanding of religious beliefs and practices and how these may affect the ways that some staff may want to work flexibly in DTI; and
	Be a forum for DTI staff to bring issues and concerns related to their religious beliefs at work, and a respected channel of those views to DTI as a whole.
	No staff have been subject to disciplinary proceedings regarding the display of religious artefacts, symbols or dress within the past five years.

Departmental Role

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what options for the future of his Department are being explored by  (a) officials and  (b) Ministers within his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Neither officials nor Ministers are exploring options for the Department's future. We are concentrating on delivering a set of objectives of great importance to the UK's prosperity, and on helping to shape our objectives for the next Spending Review period.

Energy Supplies

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will prioritise assistance for those who wish to introduce renewable energy to their property who do not have access to mains gas.

Malcolm Wicks: The Government wish to encourage all householders to install microgeneration technologies. We recently re-allocated 6.2 million from within our Low Carbon Buildings capital grant programmes to allow more householders to obtain grants for microgeneration technologies.
	DTI's Design and Demonstration Unit is working on partnership programmes with the regional development agencies in the north-east and Yorkshire and Humberside to assist 4,000 low-income households in 40 communities. Among other measures, these programmes are examining the provision of cost-effective renewables technologies where connection to the gas network is not economically viable.

Export Control Act

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he plans to publish the terms of reference of the review of the Export Control Act 2002 due to take place in May 2007.

Malcolm Wicks: As indicated in my response to the hon. Member's question of 4 May 2006,  Official Report, column 1751W, and by my colleague, my right hon. Friend the Minister of State for Industry and the Regions, in her response to the hon. Gentleman's question of 13 September 2006,  Official Report, column 2326W, it is my intention to start the review of the regulations introduced under the Export Control Act after they have been in force for three years i.e. from May 2007. The details of the review are being actively considered but have yet to be finalised.

Industrial Innovation

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps his Department is taking to stimulate innovation in British industry.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 26 October 2006
	The '10 year science and innovation investment framework 2004-14' published in 2004 lays out our policies on science and innovation. We are pursuing a wide range of policies to encourage innovation:
	The technology programme supports collaboration, knowledge transfer and research and development in promising new technologies. The business-led technology strategy board (TSB) ensures that the programme is focused where it can add most value. Since the TSB was established in October 2004:
	Over 750 million of R and D activity has been leveraged from 365 million of Government support;
	Over 40 specific technology areas have been supported;
	Over 500 projects have been approved for funding; and
	20 Knowledge transfer networks have been established.
	The higher education innovation fund (HEIF) encourages knowledge transfer from universities to business. This takes advantage of the UK's strengths in basic research to stimulate business innovation. It also helps those in academia to better understand, and benefit from, the commercial opportunities of their work.
	The patent office is building on its role as protector of intellectual property rights (IPR) by running a successful programme of activities educating people about innovation and the role IPR plays.
	Public procurement spend is worth around 150 billion a year. Initiatives such as the small business research initiative (SBRI) and work by the Office for Government Commerce are helping to make government a more intelligent customer. This stimulates business innovation and increases value for money.
	Research and Development tax credits encourage businesses to invest in R and D by providing tax relief on R and D expenditure.
	Skills are a major contributor to improving levels of innovation and productivity. We are therefore investing to raise skills in science, engineering, technology and mathematics, and emphasise the importance of management and leadership skills.

Low Carbon Buildings Programme

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps his Department is taking to increase the Low Carbon Buildings Programme budget for household renewable energy systems.

Malcolm Wicks: When the Low Carbon Buildings Programme phase 1 was launched in April 2006, 6.5 million from the 28.5 million budget was set aside to fund the household stream over three years. To date, over 4 million has been committed to successful projects.
	Taking into account the higher than anticipated demand, we announced on 25 October 2006 that we would be re-allocating a further 6.2 million from the phase 1 budget to the household stream.
	Based on current projected demand levels, this additional amount should allow householder funding to continue until mid-2008.

Low Carbon Buildings Programme

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many households have been allocated grants under the Low Carbon Buildings Programme.

Malcolm Wicks: Under the Low Carbon Buildings Programme phase 1, we have currently committed 4.1 million to 2,701 successful household applicants. Of this amount, 0.4 million has bee paid to 404 grant claimants. Further information can be found in the Low Carbon Buildings Programme website, at the following link: http://www.lowcarbonbuildings.org.uk/lcpb/statistics/statisticsView.action.

Low Carbon Buildings Programme

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of his Department's Low Carbon Buildings Programme budget was allocated to individual household installations in each year of the programme.

Malcolm Wicks: The original budget for Low Carbon Buildings Programme phase 1 was 30 million. 1.5 million was brought forward for use on the Clear Skies and Solar PV Major Demonstration Programmes to smooth the transition between the legacy schemes, and the new scheme.
	From the remaining 28.5 million, 6.5 million had been set aside at scheme launch to fund the household stream over the next three years. The percentage breakdown by year was as follows:
	
		
			   Budget percentage 
			 2006-07 12 
			 2007-08 7 
			 2008-09 3 
		
	
	Taking into account higher than anticipated demand in year one, we announced on 25 October 2006 that we would be re-allocating a further 6.2 million from the phase 1 budget to the household stream. No details on how this figure will be distributed by year are available as yet. However, my officials will be meeting with industry representatives on 31 October to discuss in more detail how the programme will operate going forward.

Miners' Compensation

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many chronic obstructive pulmonary disease claims had been made by residents of Bassetlaw constituency on 31 March 2004, broken down by solicitor.

Malcolm Wicks: The number of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) claims made by the residents of Bassetlaw on 31 March 2004, broken down by claimants' representatives is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Practice name  Number of claims submitted 
			 Raleys Solicitors 15 
			 Delta Legal 11 
			 Avalon Solicitors 10 
			 Irwin Mitchell Solicitors 10 
			 BRM Solicitors 8 
			 Union of Democratic Mineworkers 8 
			 Recompense Ltd. 6 
			 Cordner Lewis Solicitors 4 
			 Foy and Co. Solicitors 3 
			 Stuart Bell  Associates 3 
			 The Legal Warehouse 2 
			 Thompsons Solicitors 2 
			 Frank Alien Pennington Solicitors 2 
			 Beresfords Solicitors 2 
			 Gorman Hamilton Solicitors 1 
			 Hilary Meredith Solicitors 1 
			 Hugh James 1 
			 Tracey Barlow Furniss and Co. 1 
			 Simpson Millar Solicitors 1 
			 Kidd and Spoor Harper Solicitors 1 
			 Mark Gilbert Morse 1 
			 Watson Burton LLP 1 
			 Wheelers Solicitors 1 
			 Total claims 95

Miners' Compensation

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many estates of deceased miners are still awaiting adjustments to their final settlement due to the ongoing discussions relating to the loss of pension entitlement.

Malcolm Wicks: There are 274 outstanding chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) from estates of deceased miners which remain outstanding due to ongoing discussions about loss of pension entitlement. 126 of these claims are from widows.
	The issues to be resolved are primarily between claimants' solicitors and co-defendants' representatives and thus to some extent out of the Department's control. However, we continue to use whatever influence we can to achieve resolution.

Muslim Council of Britain

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much  (a) financial support and  (b) support in kind his Department and its agencies has given to the Muslim Council of Britain in each year since 1997.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Total payments made by the Department to the Muslim Council of Britain are as follows:
	
		
			
			 2003-04 79,042 
			 2004-05 225,957 
			 2005-06 124,800 
			 2006-07 46,000 
		
	
	No payments were made before January 2004. Almost all the funding has been to support awareness raising within the Muslim community for the Employment Equality Regulations on sexual orientation and religion and belief.

Nuclear Power/Security

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what consultations the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority has held with the private sector on the storage of the UK's energy waste.

Malcolm Wicks: There is no formal consultation process under way with the private sector on the storage of radioactive waste. Most contacts with the private sector have been by NDA's Site Licensee Companies rather than the NDA itself.

Nuclear Power/Security

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the adequacy of resources available to the Office for Civil Nuclear Security to regulate the security of radioactive wastes in  (a) store and  (b) transit.

Malcolm Wicks: The Office for Civil Nuclear Security (OCNS) is responsible for the regulation of the security of all radioactive material on licensed civil nuclear sites, and of nuclear material in transit.
	OCNS assesses its own resource needs regularly and resources are provided through the Department of Trade and Industry.
	Successive directors of Civil Nuclear Security have commented on these resource levels in their annual reports, documents which primarily provide assurance that security arrangements within the civil nuclear industry are stringent and comprehensive, and regulated by a competent security authority, independent of industry interests.

Oil Industry

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the answer of 20 October 2006,  Official Report, column 1498W, on the oil industry, what assumptions were made in producing the estimate that UK crude oil production will fall below 25 per cent. of refinery demand between 2010 and 2015.

Malcolm Wicks: The UK's 25 per cent. derogation from its EU obligation to hold emergency stocks of oil is based on the extent to which UK consumption is supplied by UK production. Our projections are that UK consumption will remain fairly steady in the short to medium term. We expect, partly as a consequence of the new Buzzard field coming fully on-stream, that UK production will rise from current levels in 2007 and 2008, and will then fall, with the UK becoming a net importer of oil on a sustained annual basis by around 2010. A large and growing net import requirement is expected thereafter. It is not clear at what rate production will fall. But it is possible that it will fall fast enough for that proportion of refinery demand and through that of UK consumption which is met by UK production to fall below 25 per cent. We think it prudent to allow for this possibility in the context of our increasing oil stocking obligation, but are keeping the position under review.

Private Equity Companies

Bob Blizzard: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the European Commission Report of the Alternative Investment Group on Developing European Private Equity on private equity companies.

Edward Balls: I have been asked to reply.
	I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave him on 31 October 2006,  Official Report, column 312W.

Quadripartite Select Committee

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he will respond to the Quadripartite Select Committee's First Joint Report Strategic Export Controls: Annual Report for 2004, Quarterly Reports for 2005, Licensing Policy and Parliamentary Scrutiny, HC873.

Kim Howells: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government's response to the Quadripartite Committee's Report was laid before Parliament as a Command Paper (reference 6954) on 30 October.

Regional Development Agencies

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the expenditure per head of population of each regional development agency was in each year since 1999.

Margaret Hodge: The following table shows the regional development agency budget per head of population, in each of the nine regions since 1999-2000 to 2006-2007.
	
		
			  () 
			   1999-2000  2000-02  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 AWM 19.80 21.73 27.11 39.23 46.15 41.73 52.30 54.61 
			 EEDA 5.66 6.79 10.37 16.60 15.09 15.85 24.33 25.28 
			 EMDA 10.00 16.34 20.97 24.63 28.53 29.02 38.04 39.75 
			 LDA  33.09 37.46 41.54 44.64 46.19 52.53 55.07 
			 NWDA 21.04 23.28 40.29 40.89 46.11 54.77 57.01 59.70 
			 ONE 36.80 39.20 63.20 77.20 89.20 90.80 96.00 100.40 
			 SEEDA 11.66 13.51 17.96 20.74 25.18 20.37 29.07 30.18 
			 SWRDA 8.77 12.65 17.34 21.02 20.20 23.06 31.22 32.44 
			 YF 24.69 25.51 42.24 43.06 49.79 58.77 60.20 63.26 
			  Note:  Population figures are taken from the 2001 UK Census

Skills Minister

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on appointing a skills Minister in each Department.

Margaret Hodge: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has appointed Lord Sainsbury as the DTI Minister with special responsibility for skills issues. Both he and the Secretary of State have regular contact with colleagues in other Government Departments on skills issues.

Solicitors (Complaints)

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what process is followed by officials in his Department in making a complaint to the Law Society about a named solicitor; and what ministerial approval is required for such a complaint to be lodged.

Malcolm Wicks: Anyone may make a complaint about solicitors to the Law Society, whose website provides contact details and explains the scope of their powers. When individual cases are referred to the Department they are considered and, if appropriate, passed to the Law Society. Ministerial approval is not required.

United Utilities

Janet Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will investigate the decision of United Utilities not to provide an electricity supply to Mr and Mrs Johnson of Rakefoot Farmhouse, Holcombe Road, Helmshore, Rossendale.

Malcolm Wicks: Electricity distribution network operators, of which United Utilities is one, must offer terms to connect consumers. These are set out in their guaranteed standards of service. If consumers are not satisfied that their local electricity distribution network operator is meeting these standard terms and conditions they should discuss the matter with the statutory consumer body, energywatch. If energywatch believe the standards have not been met, they can refer the matter to the regulator, Ofgem, for investigation and action. It should also be noted that there is competition in connections so consumers do not have to use incumbent network operators to provide a connection to their property.

TRANSPORT

Age Discrimination

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if his Department will  (a) carry out an age audit of its staff to establish an age profile of its work force,  (b) negotiate an age management policy with trade unions and employees to eliminate age discrimination and retain older workers,  (c) identify and support training needs and offer older staff flexible working to downshift towards retirement and  (d) extend to over-fifties the right to request to work flexibly and the right to training with paid time off; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: The Department for Transport already uses age profiling/audits to help support work on a range of HR issues including performance, employee satisfaction, recruitment and retention levels and succession planning.
	Prior to 1 October 2006, when the new age regulations came into force, the central Department and its Executive agencies reviewed its policies and procedures to ensure that they were not age discriminatory. The Department has taken the decision that all employees including those in and below the senior civil service should retire at age 65. Any changes in policies have been discussed with the departmental trade unions.
	All employees are encouraged to up-grade their skills and knowledge, whatever their age. The Department provides older workers with the same opportunities for training and development as their younger counterparts.
	Employee requests to work more flexibly are considered positively by the Department and all employees have access to flexible working, irrespective of their age.

Airport Policy

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what his policy is on one person using the ownership of several airports in one region  (a) to cross-subsidise and  (b) to concentrate activities at one airport at the disadvantage of another;
	(2)  what his policy is on one person owning several airports in one region.

Gillian Merron: Competition at UK airports is a matter for the Office of Fair Trading. In addition, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), as the independent regulator of UK airports, sets maximum prices at Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Manchester. The CAA's current policy is to set maximum prices for each airport separately on the basis of its costs and revenue where several airports are owned by the same operator.

Cycling

Dennis Skinner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many cycle routes have been established in the East Midlands since 1997.

Tom Harris: Information on cycle tracks and cycle lanes is provided by local authorities on an annual basis as part of their Annual Performance Reports on the Local Transport Plans and has only been collected since 2001-02. It is not verified by the Department and responsibility for the accuracy of the data rests with individual authorities.
	Local highway authorities in the East Midlands have informed us through the Local Transport Planning process that they have built 337 cycle tracks and 267 cycle lanes during 2001-02 to 2005-06. This equates to 377.7 km of cycle tracks and 243.8 km of cycle lanes.

Departmental IT

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which of his Department's databases are  (a) wholly and  (b) partly operated by external organisations or individuals; and which organisations and individuals own those databases.

Gillian Merron: The following Department for Transport databases are wholly or partly operated by external organisations or individuals:
	
		
			  Database  External operator  Owner  Wholly  Partly 
			 Congestion monitoring Mott MacDonald DfT statistics X  
			 Local Roads Structural Survey WDM DfT statistics X  
			 Accessibility indicators Dotted Eyes DfT statistics X  
			 Bus Satisfaction Survey GfK DfT statistics  X 
			 Maritime statistics system BMT Reliability DfT statistics  X 
			 Origin and Destination Surveys GeoSolve IT DfT economists X  
			 RAMTED-Accidents and incidents involving transport of radioactive material Health Protection Agency DfT radioactive materials and HSE (joint) X  
			 Payroll database Logica CMG . DfTHR  X 
			 Payroll database Northgate DfTHR X  
			 Transport direct distributed journey planning system Atos Origin DfT transport direct X  
			 SAP financials system DCLG DCLG X  
			 ICARUS budget monitoring DCLG DCLG X  
			 MOT computerisation Siemens DfT/VOSA X  
			 Vehicle and operator service agency ICT system Atos DfTA/OSA X  
			 High speed craft database Sea Speed Marine Consultancy DfT/MCA  X 
			 HAGDMS-HA geotechnical data management system Mott Macdonald DfT/Highways Agency X  
			 ESDAL-HA electronic service HA delivery for abnormal loads Serco DfT/Highways Agency X  
			 HATRIS/TRADS-HA traffic flow database Capita Symonds DfT/Highways Agency X  
			 HATRIS/JTDB-A journey time database Capita Symonds DfT/Highways Agency X  
			 PartnerNet-HA portal database BT DfT/Highways Agency  X 
			 HALOGEN-HA logging environment Mott Macdonald DfT/Highways Agency X  
			 NOMAD-HA national online motorway asset database Mott Macdonald DfT/Highways Agency X  
			 EPS-HA energy procurement system Atkins/Odlin DfT/Highways Agency X  
			 HAVS-HA valuation system EC Harris DfT/Highways Agency X  
			 HANET-HA CCTV images WSP Group Simulation System DfT/Highways Agency X  
			 DVLA drivers and vehicles IBM/Fujitsu DfT/DVLA X  
			 DVLA enforcement IBM/Fujitsu DfT/DVLA X

Departmental IT

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which databases operated by his Department are located  (a) wholly and  (b) partly outside the UK; and where each of those databases and parts of databases is located.

Gillian Merron: The only Department for Transport database located outside the UK is the Driving Standards Agency Driving Theory Test. It is wholly owned and operated by Pearson VUE and the data centre is located in Ohio City, Ohio with a backup based in Minneapolis, USA.

Departmental Travel

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much has been spent by his Department on  (a) chartering aircraft and  (b) non-scheduled air travel in each of the last five years.

Gillian Merron: The Department for Transport and three of its agencies, HA, GCDA and MCA do not record chartered and non-scheduled flights separately from other air travel. The information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The Department's remaining agencies, DSA, DVLA, VCA, and VOSA have used only scheduled flights in the last five years.
	In respect of overseas travel by Cabinet Ministers, since 1999 the Government have published an annual list of all overseas visits undertaken by Cabinet Ministers costing 500 or more during each financial year. Where non-scheduled aircraft are used, this is shown in the list. Information for 2005-06 was published on 24 July 2006. Copies of the lists are available in the Library for the reference of Members.
	All ministerial travel is undertaken in accordance with the rules set out in the Ministerial Code and Travel by Ministers, copies of which are available in the Library for the reference of Members. All official travel is undertaken in accordance with the requirements of the Civil Service Management Code, a copy of which is also available in the Library for the reference of Members.

Departmental Vacancies

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of vacancies in his Department in the last 12 months required candidates to have at least a grade C in  (a) English and  (b) mathematics GCSE.

Gillian Merron: In the past 12 months DFT (central) has run two external campaigns requesting GCSEs. One of these asked for a grade C in maths and English and the other recruitment exercise required five GCSEs at grade C or above with no subjects specified.
	VOSA have run 50 external recruitment campaigns in the last 12 months, where they have required grade C in English but with no requirement for maths. If candidates do not have the required qualification in English, they are required to have two years admin experience instead.
	The other Executive agencies of DFT have not requested GCSE qualifications in their recruitment exercises of the past 12 months. Posts advertised to internal staff only do not have GCSE qualifications as a requirement as employees would already have the necessary skills set.

East Coast Main Line

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress has been made on the planned upgrading of the East Coast Main Line, with particular reference to improved station facilities at Peterborough.

Tom Harris: Network Rail is reviewing a number of upgrade and enhancement options for the East Coast Main Line.
	There are currently proposals to develop the station facilities at Peterborough as part of a wider commercial development although the plans are at an early stage.

Eddington Review

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects Sir Rod Eddington to publish his review of British transport policy.

Tom Harris: Sir Rod Eddington's transport study looks at the long-term impact of transport decisions on the UK's productivity, stability and growth, within the context of Government's commitment to sustainable development. He will publish his advice around the time of the pre-Budget report.

Infrastructure

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much has been spent by his Department on capital investment in transport infrastructure in each of the last 10 years.

Gillian Merron: The Department has spent the following capital investment on roads, rail and local transport infrastructure in accordance with its departmental annual report 2006:
	
		
			million 
			 2000-01 1,598 
			 2001-02 3,783 
			 2002-03 6,073 
			 2003-04 6,575 
			 2004-05 5,961 
			 2005-06 (est.) 6,558 
		
	
	Figures for previous years cannot be provided on a comparable basis.

International GCSE

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether his Department recognises the International GCSE as an acceptable substitute for a GCSE for the purposes of recruitment.

Gillian Merron: The Department and its Executive agencies have never been presented with this qualification. If GCSEs were a requirement for some recruitment exercises and this qualification was provided, the Department or agency concerned may possibly consider this as a substitute, but we would need to seek further advice from the QCA as to the content of the qualification.

Rail Freight

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much freight was transported by rail in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Tom Harris: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 31 October 2006,  Official Report, columns 301-2W.

Rail Services

Linda Riordan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether existing cross-country train services linking Yorkshire with the  (a) South Coast and  (b) South West will be maintained when the new Cross Country Franchise begins.

Tom Harris: Services on these routes are changing to deliver the benefits of the West Coast Main Line upgrade and facilitate future increases in capacity. From December 2008 there will be an hourly service from Edinburgh to Plymouth, via Leeds, supplemented with an hourly service between Newcastle and Reading, via Doncaster. Passengers from Yorkshire to the South Coast will be required to change. Depending on the origin and destination, the most appropriate place to change will be one of London, Manchester, Birmingham or Reading.

Rail Services

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions he has had with First Great Western about reducing journey times between London Paddington and Swansea.

Tom Harris: There have been no discussions recently with First Great Western about reducing journey times between London Paddington and Swansea.

Rail Services

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the performance of services on First Great Western Trains Ltd. to July 2006; and if he will make a statement.

Tom Harris: The performance of passenger train operators is measured by the Public Performance Measure (PPM). First Great Western's PPM, expressed as a moving annual average, stood at 83.8 per cent. in July 2006. Improving rail performance is a key objective for the Department for Transport. Joint action plans are in place between Network Rail and First Great Western to address performance issues. These are monitored monthly.

Rail Services

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the joint action plan between First Great Western and Network Rail for the monitoring of performance of services between London Paddington and Swansea.

Tom Harris: Improving rail performance is a key objective for the Department for Transport. Joint action plans are in place between Network Rail and First Great Western to address performance issues. These are monitored monthly.

Rail Services

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps First Great Western is taking to ensure that services to Swansea  (a) depart on time from London Paddington and  (b) use reasonable endeavours to minimise the need for passengers to stand (i) on off-peak services and (ii) for no more than 20 minutes on peak services.

Tom Harris: First Great Western (FGW) participates with Network Rail in the Joint Performance Improvement Plan process and under its new franchise agreement has committed to a number of investments to improve performance. FGW monitors passenger numbers, including through on-board passenger counts.

Rail Services

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many cancellations occurred on First Great Western Services between Swansea and London Paddington between January to July 2006; and how many were the result of  (a) vandalism,  (b) locomotive failure,  (c) adverse weather conditions,  (d) electrical faults and  (e) engineering works.

Tom Harris: The number of First Greater Western services reported as cancelled in between January to July 2006 was 2,518. This represents 0.8 per cent. of the services planned to run.
	The Department does not hold data relating specifically to Swansea to London train services, nor relating to the reasons for each cancellation.

Rail Services

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 11 July 2006,  Official Report, column 1698W, on Arriva Trains Wales, what the outcome was of his Department's discussions between interested parties about train services between Cardiff and Swansea.

Tom Harris: The Department for Transport is not convinced that it would be appropriate for it to fund additional train services between Cardiff and Swansea. It remains in discussion with interested parties.

Rail Services

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the feasibility of a direct rail link between Shrewsbury and London Marylebone; and if he will make a statement.

Tom Harris: The Department is aware of an open access operatorWrexham, Shropshire and Marylebone Railway (WSMR)which is pursuing a proposal with Network Rail and the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR), to operate direct services between Wrexham, Shrewsbury and London Marylebone.
	The decision on whether robust train paths are available on a route lies with Network Rail. Where Network Rail does identify such paths it is then for ORR to evaluate the effect it will have on the network.

Railways

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 19 October 2006,  Official Report, column 1340W on railways, what the outcomes have been of correspondence between officials in his Department and the South Hampshire Rail Users' Group.

Tom Harris: Letters have been sent to the South Hampshire Rail Users Group in May and October by officials in the Department who have noted the material provided, and explained the franchise replacement process for South Western. They covered the franchise objectives, the development of the specification, the timescales for bid evaluation and award of the new franchise, and the key outputs of the winning bidder. The day-to-day operation of the franchise is a matter for Stagecoach, and South Hampshire Rail Users Group should take up such issues with them.

Road Safety

Humfrey Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many personal injury road traffic accidents involving an ambulance occurred in England and Wales in each of the last five years.

Stephen Ladyman: The information requested is given in the table.
	
		
			  Personal injury accidents involving ambulances: 2001-05 
			   England  Wales  Scotland  Great Britain 
			 2001 303 24 13 340 
			 2002 295 21 16 332 
			 2003 319 29 17 365 
			 2004 277 14 15 306 
			 2005 250 21 20 291

Rolling Stock

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps First Great Western is taking to ensure that initial newly refurbished Class 43 Mark III coaches begin service in November.

Tom Harris: The first newly refurbished First Great Western Class 43 High Speed Train power cars have already entered service.
	The date for initial introduction of the first newly refurbished Mark III High Speed Train passenger coaches is a matter for First Great Western.

Vehicle Emissions

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research his Department has  (a) undertaken and  (b) evaluated into the effectiveness of fuel additives in reducing emissions from vehicles.

Stephen Ladyman: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 16 October 2006,  Official Report, column 915W.

Vehicle Emissions

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the potential increased volume of carbon emissions in the UK resulting from the EU directive requiring the use of dipped headlights during daylight hours.

Stephen Ladyman: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 25 October 2006,  Official Report, columns 1864-65W.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Urban Trees

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will discuss with ministerial colleagues a tree planting campaign in urban areas.

David Miliband: We have recently conducted a consultation exercise as part of a review of the current England Forestry Strategy (1998). In this exercise we considered the role of urban trees and woodlands in providing public benefits. We are now having discussions with colleagues across Government to develop a new strategy for England's trees and woodlands that supports local delivery bodies in considering their tree resource in the light of local circumstances. We do not believe a national campaign would be appropriate.

Emissions Trading

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions he has had on the extension of emissions trading within the European Union.

David Miliband: We have regular discussions with our EU partners about the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, including the European Commission's forthcoming review of the scheme. We want to build on the scheme as the EU's principal mechanism of reducing carbon emissions. Extending the coverage of the scheme to the aviation sector is one of our most significant goals.

Newcastle Brown Ale

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations he has made to the European Commission about the protected geographical identity of Newcastle Brown Ale.

David Miliband: My Department has written to the European Commission on numerous occasions on this issue. It has also been the subject of two bilateral meetings between my officials and the Commission.

Carbon Emissions

Graham Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will set targets for a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions from those aircraft and ships which are not included in Government figures on greenhouse gas emissions.

Ian Pearson: Emissions from international aviation and maritime transport were not included in the 1997 Kyoto protocol. We are working at an international level to limit or reduce these emissions through the International Civil Aviation Organisation, the International Maritime Organisation and the EU. Our priority is the inclusion of the aviation sector in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme.

Water Companies

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the regulatory implications of the recent takeovers of water companies.

Ian Pearson: Water companies have statutory duties to provide water and sewerage services irrespective of their ownership. The economic regulator, Ofwat, examines any transfer of ownership and takes regulatory action to prevent prejudice to the interests of customers.

Climate Change

Jim Devine: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress was made on tackling climate change at the Gleneagles dialogue meeting in Mexico.

David Miliband: The meeting confirmed that real and practical progress is being made in a number of key areas, for example, promoting opportunities for low carbon technologies, recognising the scale of future investment needed, and underlining the importance of strong frameworks to support international climate change co-operation. The meeting also starkly illustrated the need for comprehensive global action to combat climate change.

Climate Change

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to ensure that staff in bodies for which he is responsible working to combat climate change have access to sufficient funding.

Ian Pearson: We fund a variety of bodies working to combat climate change including the Hadley Centre, Energy Saving Trust, and Carbon Trust. We support work that maximises the impact and cost-effectiveness of our expenditure and will seek to ensure that any CSR settlement supports the Department's strategic priorities in this way.

British Waterways

Bob Laxton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will carry out an impact study on the effect on British Waterways of the proposed reduction in its funding from his Department.

Ben Bradshaw: Government have consulted closely with British Waterways on the financial pressures facing DEFRA and the impact these will have on it.
	It is important to understand that British Waterways' restructuring plans predated the one-off in-year savings exercise that took 7 per cent. out of British Waterways 2006-07 grant in aid. These restructuring plans came on top of major investment by this Government which, in addition to 42 million to address the safety backlog, has reduced the general maintenance backlog from 270 million to just 119 million.
	The restructuring will bring a greater focus to customer service on the bankside, improvements to business efficiency and to address the recent reductions in Government funding.

British Waterways

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with British Waterways on the implications for safety of the reductions in staff allocated to operating bridges and locks.

Ben Bradshaw: This is an operational matter for British Waterways (BW). BW's priorities are to secure the safety and integrity of the network and it has assured me that there are no implications for health and safety.

British Waterways

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when British Waterways was first informed of its budget allocations for  (a) 2006-07 and  (b) 2007-08.

Ben Bradshaw: As part of Spending Review 2004, British Waterways was given an indicative budget allocation for 2006-07 in April 2004. British Waterways was formally notified of its resource allocation for 2006-07 on 12 April 2006.
	Following an in-year review of DEFRA's budgets, the Secretary of State formally notified the Board of its revised funding allocation on 27 July 2006.
	Budget allocations for 2007-08 will be issued shortly.

British Waterways

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what grant in aid has he allocated to British Waterways in each of the next four financial years.

Ben Bradshaw: British Waterways' grant in aid allocation for 2007-08 will be issued shortly. No decisions have yet been made on levels of funding over the Spending Review period from 2008-09 up to 2010-11. This is subject to the Her Majesty's Treasury timetable for a comprehensive spending review which is scheduled to conclude in the summer of 2007.

Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Permits

Adrian Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment was made of the likely length of time needed to process applications for integrated pollution prevention and control permits.

Ben Bradshaw: The Pollution Prevention and Control (England and Wales) Regulations 2000, which were made in the light of consultation with regulators and industry, require permit applications to be determined within four months unless the applicant and the regulator agree that a longer period will be acceptable.

Poultry (Control Permits)

Adrian Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what services will be provided by the Environment Agency to those companies in the poultry industry that pay an annual subscription fee following their applications for integrated pollution prevention and control permits.

Ben Bradshaw: The annual subsistence fee covers the Environment Agency's costs for inspections, providing guidance, scheme infrastructure and permit maintenance.

Poultry (Control Permits)

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research he has carried out into the extent to which the integrated pollution prevention and control regulations as they affect poultry farmers have been implemented in England as compared to other EU countries.

Ben Bradshaw: The Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) Directive is required to be implemented in its entirety in all member states by 2007. In the UK, the farming sector is among the last to be regulated by the national transposing regulations (with the exception of new installations). Most other industrial sectors have had to apply for an IPPC permit and comply with the provisions of the IPPC regime sooner than intensive livestock.
	Some EU member states may not charge for IPPC permit applications, but may recover varying proportions of their costs from the regulated industry, while others bear the cost in general taxation. This is a political decision for each national Government. The differing practices which are in place make it difficult to make comparisons of the costs to producers across the EU.

Single Farm Payments

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many farmers have not received single farm payments to which they are entitled.

Ben Bradshaw: As at 25 October, approximately 5,087 claimants were awaiting a top-up payment after receiving a partial payment and approximately 2,333 claimants had not received any payment. Of those 2,333 customers, the majority of claims were valued under 1,000 (682) but there were an estimated 58 claims above 1000.
	These are complex cases involving issues such as probate, liquidation and business partnership disputes. The RPA is working to resolve all claims as soon as possible.

State Veterinary Service

Roger Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the possible effect of the reduction in the funding of the state veterinary service on  (a) farm animal welfare and  (b) disease control; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 31 October 2006
	The operational budget for the state veterinary service (SVS) has not been reduced, and its capacity and capability to enforce on-farm welfare and disease control has not been affected.

Whaling

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what action he plans to take in response to the decision by Iceland to resume commercial whaling.

Ben Bradshaw: The United Kingdom Government have led the international condemnation of Iceland's inexplicable and inexcusable decision. I called in the Icelandic ambassador, our ambassador in Rekyavik yesterday led a multi national demarche of 25 countries together with the European Commission and I supported a declaration drafted by Austria at a meeting of EU environment ministers in Luxemburg last week.
	I am pleased that following the UK calls the EU Commission has now requested those EU countries that are not yet members of the International Whaling Commission to join. I have also urged UK Government colleagues to reassess contacts with the Icelandic Government in order to make our displeasure absolutely plain.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Age Discrimination

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if her Department will  (a) carry out an age audit of its staff to establish an age profile of its work force,  (b) negotiate an age management policy with trade unions and employees to eliminate age discrimination and retain older workers,  (c) identify and support training needs and offer older staff flexible working to downshift towards retirement and  (d) extend to over-fifties the right to request to work flexibly and the right to training with paid time off; and if she will make a statement.

David Lammy: The information is as follows.
	 (a) DCMS has been monitoring age for a number of years and figures show that the Department has a relatively even spread of ages across the Department.
	 (b) The Department has already carried out a recent audit of its employment policies to ensure that it is not discriminating on grounds of age. We will continue to review these policies in partnership with the trade unions and other, interested stakeholders.
	 (c) Training is available to all staff, regardless of age and the Department continues to review its training policies to ensure we are not discriminating on the grounds of age. The Department also offers a range of flexible working patterns, including flexi-time, compressed hours, annualised hours, part-time working and job-sharing which is available to all staff working in the Department.
	 (d) As in  (c) all DCMS staff are given the opportunity to work flexibly. Staff going on training courses, provided by the Department, are paid while taking time off to attend.

Arts Funding

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what additional costs to the Arts Council have resulted from the arts project The Public going into administration.

David Lammy: The board of The Public decided to appoint administrators for The Public Ltd. and The Public Building Ltd. in March 2006 in spite of efforts by Arts Council England, Sandwell MBC, Advantage West Midlands and the GOWM to stabilise the project after cost overruns were identified in January 2006. The only additional costs incurred as a result of the administration have been fees paid to the administrators PricewaterhouseCoopers, which have been shared equally between the funders. The fees paid to the administrators are commercially sensitive and cannot be released at this time.

Departmental Mail

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what percentage of the Department's mail is shipped using private companies; and what the cost was over the last 12 months.

David Lammy: Of the 19 companies licensed to provide such services under the Postal Services Act 2000, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport uses only the Royal Mail.
	The percentage of the Department's mail delivered by Royal Mail is estimated to be 70 per cent. The remainder is delivered by hand or by the Government's Internal Delivery Services (IDS) provider. Over the past 12 months costs of Royal Mail services amounted to 38,111.

Panathlon Challenge

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what Government funding is being provided for the Panathlon Challenge.

Richard Caborn: No Government funding is currently being provided.

School Sport Partnerships

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will allocate money from the School Sport Partnerships to the Panathlon.

Richard Caborn: School Sport Partnerships are funded by the Department for Education and Skills to deliver the PSA target for the National School Sport Strategy. This funding cannot be diverted.

Sport England

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much Sport England spent on consultancy fees in each of the last five years.

Richard Caborn: The consultancy fees paid by Sport England in each of the last five years are:
	
		
			   Total cost () 
			 2001-02 415,356 
			 2002-03 788,537 
			 2003-04 1,553,442 
			 2004-05 1,187,697 
			 2005-06 1,501,202

Sport England

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many staff left Sport England in each of the last five years; and how much Sport England spent on payments for staff leaving the organisation in each year.

Richard Caborn: The number of staff who left Sport England, and payments made in respect of redundancy in each of the last five years are as follows:
	
		
			  As at April each year  Normal turnover  Restructure  Total leavers  Redundancy and payment in lieu ()( 1) 
			 2002   (2) 6.6 million 
			 2003  101 101 1,172,585 
			 2004 40 22 62 255,415 
			 2005 8 45 53 522,440 
			 2006 31 54 85 986.360 
			 (1) Payment in lieu was paid to staff in respect of three months notice. (2 )Due to the installation of a new Human Resources system Sport England are unable to provide historical data on staff numbers before 2004.

Sport England

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what customer satisfaction surveys have been undertaken to assess the performance of Sport England over the last five years; and what the results were of each.

Richard Caborn: Sport England commissioned a customer satisfaction survey in 2001 to be carried out at the end of each year based around criteria that were of most importance to their customers including, for example; knowledge of staff, ability of Sport England staff to make decisions, proactive approach, quality of services and products delivered. The annual overall Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) figures for that survey are:
	
		
			  Customer Satisfaction Index 
			   Percentage 
			 2001 74.3 
			 2002 72.9 
			 2003 70.6 
			 2004 69.5 
		
	
	In 2005 Sport England commissioned a new survey that reflected a more competitive test of the market. This was carried out in early 2006. The overall Customer Satisfaction Index figure for 2006 was 65.6 from a scale of 50-80.
	As a new baseline has been set the 2006 figure is not comparable to the Customer Satisfaction Index figures of 2001-04.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Afghanistan

Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what  (a) extra pay and  (b) enhancement of conditions has been provided to his Department's staff deployed to Afghanistan.

Hilary Benn: UK Staff deployed to Afghanistan are entitled to cost of living allowance (COLA) and hardship allowance in addition to their regular salary payments.
	COLA is paid to compensate staff for the additional cost of living in Afghanistan compared to working and living in the UK. Hardship allowance is paid to compensate staff for the problems faced with working and living in extremely difficult locations. Both allowances are variable.
	DFID also provides staff with regular breather breaks from Afghanistan. Each member of staff is provided with a return flight to the UK every six weeks in order that they are reunited with family and friends for two weeks in every eight given that Afghanistan is deemed an unaccompanied posting.

Development Assistance

Edward Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what conflict risk assessment mechanisms his Department uses when making decisions on development assistance.

Hilary Benn: DFID's standard conflict assessment methodology is the Strategic Conflict Assessment (SCA). The SCA is a framework to analyse the implications of conflict for development policy and programming, and vice versa. It is a flexible tool, adaptable to the country context and can be used in conjunction with a range of other assessment tools. The SCA has been in use in its current form since 2001. The framework is outlined in Conducting Conflict Assessments: Guidance Notes, which can be found on the DFID website at http://www.dfid.gov.uk/pubs/files/conflict-assess-guidance.pdf
	As set out in the White Paper published in July 2006, conflict will be analysed as part of DFID's new, mandatory governance assessment framework that will be used to shape UK development policy and programmes.

Economic Partnership Agreements

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what representations he  (a) has made and  (b) plans to make to the EU's review of economic partnership agreements; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: The ongoing negotiations on economic partnership agreements (EPAs) between the EU and African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries have had an effect on the UK's international development strategies. These agreements are due to be finalised by the end of 2007. The Government have responded specifically to the ongoing EPAs negotiations and we published a policy statement in March 2005 on how we think EPAs should be designed if they are to help the ACP countries develop. This policy determines how we will influence the EPA negotiations and assess their outcome. We continue to talk to other EU member states about taking a similar approach and we continue to put pressure on the European Commission to take account of the ACP countries' development interests, most recently at the meeting of trade and development Ministers in Luxemburg on 16 October.
	A key outcome from our influencing has been the positive EU Council conclusions on EPAs signed by all member states on 10 April. The Commission are obliged to adhere to these conclusions which endorse some of the key elements of the UK Position paper; notably the support for a flexible approach in which ACP countries will open up their markets to a lesser extent and at a slower pace than the EU. We continue to support ACP countries and negotiators in order to ensure that they have access to independent research and technical assistance. We believe this support will help the ACP make informed choices on what sort of trade relationship they want with the EU. The UK Government continue to be in close contact with the ACP in order to understand their needs and concerns. These conclusions also critically acknowledge the right of the ACP to decide the content of their EPA.
	This year is a critical year in the shaping of the EPA negotiations as the EU's review of EPAs is in progress. The UK Government are committed to ensuring that this review is meaningful and with the full participation of the ACP. Crucially both the EU and the ACP have agreed that the recommendations of the review will be discussed at a high level and will be taken on board in the 2007 negotiations. As the negotiations progress into 2007, the UK Government will continue monitoring the approach taken by the Commission, as well as listening to the ACP, in order to ensure our 2005 commitments are honoured.

Light Bulbs

Edward Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of light bulbs purchased by his Department in 2005 were of the compact fluorescent type.

Hilary Benn: The proportion of bulbs purchased last year of a compact, fluorescent type is approximately 40 per cent. The proportion of fittings is somewhat higher, however, as these bulbs have a longer life expectancy than other types and are therefore purchased less often.

Private Finance Initiative Projects

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much has been spent by his Department on private finance initiative projects postponed pending further consideration or stopped in the last 12 months.

Hilary Benn: DFID has no private finance initiative projects and therefore none which has been postponed or stopped.

TREASURY

Cancer Data

Linda Riordan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the  (a) incidence and  (b) survival rate of (i) ovarian, (ii) lung, (iii) bladder, (iv) breast, (v) bowel, (vi) prostate, (vii) throat, (viii) mouth, (ix) stomach and (x) testicular cancer was in (A) England, (B) Yorkshire and (C) Calderdale in the most recent period for which figures are available.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 2 November 2006:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what the (a) incidence and (b) survival rate of (i) ovarian, (ii) lung, (iii) bladder, (iv) breast, (v) bowel, (vi) prostate, (vii) throat, (viii) mouth, (ix) stomach and (x) testicular cancer were in (A) England, (B) Yorkshire and (C) Calderdale in the most recent period for which figures are available. (98069)
	The most recent available (a) incidence rates for (i) ovarian, (ii) lung, (iii) bladder, (iv) breast, (v) colorectal, (vi) prostate, (vii) laryngeal, (viii) lip, mouth and pharynx (ix) stomach and (x) testicular cancer registered in A) England, (B) Yorkshire and Humber government office region (GOR) and (C) Calderdale local authority (LA) are given in the attached table.
	The latest nationally comparable survival rates for England, Government Office Regions and Strategic Health Authorities (but not for other areas such as local authorities), are one-and five-year relative rates for patients (aged 15-99) diagnosed in 1997-99 and followed up to the end of 2004. These are available on the Office for National Statistics (ONS) website (at the link below) for (ii) lung, (iii) bladder, (iv) female breast, (v) colon, (vi) prostate and (ix) stomach cancer. Equivalent figures are not available below national level for the other sites requested.
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/SatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=11991Pos=2ColRank=1Rank=272
	For England, survival rates are available for all the sites requested (except mouth) for adult patients (aged 15-99 years) diagnosed during 1998-2001 followed up to the end of 2003. These rates are available on the ONS website at the link below:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/ssdataset.asp?vlnk=8982Pos=4ColRank=1Rank=272
	In this publication throat cancer is referred to as cancer of the larynx.
	
		
			  Rates per 100,000 population of newly diagnosed selected cancers in England, Government Office region Yorkshire and Humber, and local authority Calderdale, 2004 
			  Site description  ICD-10 code  Sex  England  Yorkshire and Humber GOR  Calderdale LA 
			 (i) ovary C56 F 21 19 16 
			   
			 (ii) bronchus and lung C34 M 74 87 77 
			   F 48 58 65 
			   
			 (iii) bladder C67 M 24 26 17 
			   F 9 12 13 
			   
			 (iv) breast C50 M 1 1 1 
			   F 145 142 170 
			   
			 (v) colon CIS M 38 38 30 
			   F 35 34 31 
			   
			 (vi) prostate C61 M 120 118 105 
			   
			 (vii) larynx C32 M 6 6 13 
			   F 1 1 2 
			 (viii) Lip, mouth and pharynx C00-C14 M 12 11 6 
			   F 6 6 7 
			   
			 (ix) stomach C16 M 17 18 23 
			   F 9 11 8 
			   
			 (x) testis C62 M 7 6 3 
			  Source: Office for National Statistics

Cycling

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what incentives have been given to organisations to promote the cycle to work scheme among their staff since its inception.

Dawn Primarolo: Where employers lend cycles to their employees under a cycle to work scheme no tax or national insurance charge will arise providing the cycle is used mainly for commuting journeys.

Cycling

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many organisations have registered for tax exemption under the cycle to work scheme since its inception.

Dawn Primarolo: This information is not available as there is no requirement on employers to register with HMRC in order to loan cycles to their employees under a cycle to work scheme.

Departmental Expenditure

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many away days have been undertaken by the performance and efficiency team in his Department in the last 12 months; and what the  (a) location,  (b) date,  (c) activities undertaken and  (d) cost were of each away day;

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many training days have been undertaken by the performance and efficiency team in his Department in the last 12 months; and what the  (a) location,  (b) date,  (c) activities undertaken and  (d) cost was of each away day.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Gentlemen to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Fareham (Mr. Hoban) on 18 October 2006,  Official Report, columns 1252-53W. In common with other organisations in the public and private sectors the Treasury uses away-days for work-planning, training and staff development purposes.

Departmental Policy Making

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer who was responsible for the short to medium term co-ordination of policy in his Department before the appointment of the director of policy and planning on 1 July 2004.

John Healey: The permanent secretary is responsible for overall policy coordination within the Department, delegating responsibilities to senior colleagues as appropriate.

Departmental Redundancies

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many redundancies there were in his Department in each year since 1997; what the cost of such redundancies was in each year; how many temporary staff were employed in each year; and how many staff were seconded by outside organisations to posts within his Department in each year.

John Healey: There were no redundancies in the Treasury between 1997-98 and 2002-03. The data for 2003-04 to date are as follows:
	
		
			   Number  Cost ( million) 
			 2003-04 16 1.4 
			 2004-05 9 0.6 
			 2005-06 3 0.1 
		
	
	The Treasury is on target to meet the Gershon target announced in the 2004 spending review.
	The number of staff recruited on temporary fixed-term and casual contracts, and the number seconded in from other organisations is published in the Treasury's departmental report for each year until 2005. The data for 2005 are published on the Treasury's website: http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/about/about_ recruitment.cfm.

Director of Policy and Planning

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Director of Policy and Planning in his Department has met the Chair of the Labour party on official business in the last 12 months.

John Healey: He has not.

Director of Policy and Planning

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the role is of the director of policy and planning in his Department.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave him on 18 October 2006,  Official Report, column 1253W.

Director of Policy and Planning

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the post of the director of policy and planning in his Department has replaced that of the chief economic adviser.

John Healey: It has not.

Euro Preparation Group

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place in the Library copies of the Treasury minute from HM Treasury's euro preparation group meeting of 21 February.

Edward Balls: I refer the hon. Member to the answer he received on 2 October 2006,  Official Report, column 2534W, from the Minister for Local Government.

Free Travel (Pensioners)

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Transport regarding the extension of free travel to pensioners.

Stephen Timms: The Chancellor of the Exchequer has had regular discussions with both the current Secretary of State for Transport and his predecessors on a wide variety of issues, including over his announcements at the 2005 and 2006 Budgets on the introduction of free bus travel for people over the age of 60 in England.

Gateway Reviews

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many Gateway Reviews the Office of Government Commerce arranged for the Home Office during the tenure of each Home Secretary since 1997.

John Healey: The OGC Gateway process was introduced in February 2001. Across Government, in excess of 1,470 reviews have been completed since then covering more than 700 projects and programmes and achieving more than 1.5 billion in efficiency savings since 2003, as calculated through an NAO approved methodology. The number of reviews arranged by OGC specifically for Home Office programmes and projects is:
	
		
			   Member  Number of reviews 
			 February 2001 to June 2001 Mr. Straw 5 
			 June 2001 to December 2004 Mr. Blunkett 161 
			 December 2004 to May 2006 Mr. Clarke 106 
			 5 May 2006 to date Dr. Reid 25

Hardcopy Teaching Pack

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 18 October 2006,  Official Report, column 1260W, if he will place in the Library  (a) a copy of the Red Box hardcopy teaching pack and  (b) a copy of the publicity material used to raise awareness of the hardcopy teaching pack.

John Healey: I have done so.

HMRC Staff

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many full-time employees of HM Revenue and Customs worked in  (a) detection,  (b) intelligence,  (c) special civil investigations and  (d) criminal investigations in each year since 1997.

Dawn Primarolo: The number of full-time equivalent staff employed in each of these HMRC directorates at 1 April 2006 is shown in the table as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 Detection 4,336 
			 Intelligence 1,240 
			 Special Civil Investigations 345 
			 Criminal Investigations 1,601 
			 Total 7,521 
		
	
	Since then the structure of two of these directorates has changed. In September 2006 Intelligence became part of a new Risk and Intelligence directorate, and a new directorate was formed comprising National Teams and Special Civil Investigations.
	Until this reorganisation the Detection and Intelligence functions had been broadly unchanged since they were set up in Customs and Excise in 2002-03. Figures for those Directorates were given in my answer of 8 June 2006,  Official Report, column 856W.
	There are no comparable figures for the Investigations Directorates for earlier years, for the reasons I gave the hon. Member in my answer of 12 October 2006,  Official Report, column 876W.

Hypothermia

Robert Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many deaths linked with hypothermia there have been in  (a) the United Kingdom,  (b) England,  (c) Scotland,  (d) Wales and  (e) Aberdeenshire in each year since 2004; and how many people in each area were aged (i) 60 to 64, (ii) 65 to 79 and (iii) over 80 years.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 2 November 2006:
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many deaths linked with hypothermia there have been in (a) the United Kingdom, (b) England, (c) Scotland, (d) Wales and (e) Aberdeenshire in each year since 2004; and how many people in each area were aged (i) 60 to 64, (ii) 65 to 79 and (iii) over 80. (98749)
	Available information relates to the number of deaths where hypothermia was mentioned on the death certificate. The most recent year for which figures are available is 2005. The attached table shows the number of deaths where hypothermia was mentioned on the death certificate by age group for England, and Wales. Figures for Scotland and Aberdeenshire are the responsibility of the General Register Office for Scotland.
	
		
			  Deaths with a mention of hypothermia( 1)  on the death certificate, by age and country of England and Wales( 2)  2004-2005( 3) 
			   England  Wales 
			   2004  2005  2004  2005 
			 Under 60 33 35 2 1 
			 60-64 10 7 2 1 
			 65-79 37 36 2 0 
			 80 and over 76 67 5 2 
			 All ages 156 145 11 4 
			 (1)Deaths with a mention of hypothermia defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) code T68. (2 )Deaths of usual residents. (3 )Figures are for deaths occurring in each calendar year.

Income Tax

Charles Walker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people paid income tax in each of the last eight years; and what percentage of those individuals were over the state retirement age in each year.

Dawn Primarolo: Information on the number of individuals that were liable to pay income tax can be found in Table 2.1 Number of individual income taxpayers on the HM Revenue and Customs website at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/income_tax/table2_l. pdf The percentage of those individuals that were over state pension age can be calculated from the data provided in the table.

Muslim Council of Britain

Michael Gove: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much  (a) financial support and  (b) support in kind his Department and its agencies has given to the Muslim Council of Britain in each year since 1997.

John Healey: HM Treasury and its agencies have not provided any financial or support in kind to the Muslim Council since 1997.

Pensions

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the  (a) present and  (b) future retirement age arrangements are for each public sector pension scheme for which his Department has responsibility; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: HM Treasury is not responsible for making the rules of any individual public service pension schemes.

Pensions

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he next plans to update the assumptions used to calculate future spending on public sector pensions; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: The assumptions for future spending on public sector pensions in the Long Term Public Finance (LTPFR) report are provided by the Government Actuary's Department in conjunction with HM Treasury. The updated assumptions will be made available on the GAD website after the publication of this year's report.

Special Educational Needs

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress has been made in the review by his Department of the funding of children with complex special educational needs; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: In a written ministerial statement to Parliament on 5 July 2006,  Official Report, columns 37-38WS, the Economic Secretary to the Treasury announced the Terms of Reference for a joint HM Treasury and Department for Education and Skills policy review of children and young people. The review will inform the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review.

Tax Credits

Tim Farron: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will review the provision of tax credit services in the Cumbria area.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 25 October 2006
	The Chancellor keeps all aspects of the tax system, including tax credits under review.

Tax Credits

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many tax credit compliance officers are based in contact centres; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: HMRC has embedded a number of compliance specialists in contact centres to provide additional support and specialist knowledge.
	It would be inappropriate to disclose detailed information relating to staff engaged in working on fraud on the tax credit system as to do so could provide assistance to those engaged in criminal activity.

Tax Credits

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the tax credit e-portal will be fully functional; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Bury St. Edmunds (Mr. Ruffley) on 31 January 2006,  Official Report, column 441W.

Tax Credits

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to publish an estimate of tax credit  (a) fraud and  (b) error for 2004-05; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: Information on the random enquiry programme for 2004-05 is planned to be published in 2007.

Tax Credits

Charles Walker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was overpaid in family tax credits in each year for which records are available; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: Estimates for 2003-04 and 2004-05 of the numbers of in-work families with tax credits awards, including information on overpayments and underpayments, based on final family circumstances and incomes for 2003-04 and 2004-05 are published in Child and Working Tax Credits. Finalised Awards. 2003-04. Supplement on Payments in 2003-04 and Child and Working Tax Credits. Finalised Awards. 2004-05. Supplement on Payments in 2004-05. These publications are available on the HMRC website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-quarterly-stats.htm

Tax Credits

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  on what basis bonuses were paid to tax credit staff in 2005-06 and 2006-07; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what criteria are used to determine bonus payments to employees of the Tax Credit Office;
	(3)  whether bonus payments made to employees of the Tax Credit Office are based on  (a) relative and  (b) absolute levels of performance;
	(4)  what quotas are set for the  (a) number of people and  (b) proportion of the pay budget in the Tax Credit Office in relation to bonus payments;
	(5)  what the maximum budget available for bonus payments to employees of the Tax Credit Office was in each year since 2001; and what the total amount of bonuses paid to employees of the Office was in each such year.

Dawn Primarolo: Bonus payments were made to a small proportion of staff in the Tax Credit Office (TCO) recognising exceptional performance during the past year.
	There are no quotas set for the number of staff eligible for a bonus. Bonuses for exceptional performance in 2005-06 and 2006-07 were available to all staff in HM Revenue  Customs. Between 2003 and 2006, this allowed for up to 0.1% of the pay bill of individual business units, to be paid as a bonus. This was increased to 0.2% as part of HMRC's 2005-2007 pay agreement agreed with the Department's Trade Unions.
	For the number and value of bonus payments made since new tax credits were introduced in 2003, I refer the hon. Member of the answers I gave him on23 October 2006  Official Report column 1646W,25 July 2006,  Official Report column 1393W, 29 June 2006,  Official Report column 587W and 12 December 2005  Official Report columns 1792W-1793W.

Tax Credits

Andrew Turner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many tax credit overpayments were made in 2005; what their total value was; what the value of each decile of the total number of overpayments was; and what proportion and value of overpayment have been written off  (a) as unreclaimable and  (b) not reasonably ascertainable by the recipients.

Dawn Primarolo: Overpayment statistics are published by year of entitlement. The latest estimates are for 2004-05 and are published in Child and Working Tax Credits. Finalised Awards. 2004-05. Supplement on Payments in 2004-05. This publication provides information on overpayments and underpayments, based on final family circumstances and incomes for 2004-05. This publication and provisional estimates for the number of in-work families with tax credit awards as at selected dates in 2005-06 are available on the HMRC website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-quarterly-stats.htm
	Final estimates for 2005-06 will not be available until 2005-06 awards have been finalised.
	Decile distribution of 2004-05 overpayments is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Deciles (10 per cent.)  Number of families (Thousand)  Value of overpayments ( million) 
			 1(st) 196 6 
			 2(nd) 196 16 
			 3(rd) 196 29 
			 4(th) 196 47 
			 5(th) 196 69 
			 6(th) 196 100 
			 7(th) 195 144 
			 8(th) 196 215 
			 9(th) 196 341 
			 10(th) 196 728 
			 All 1,958 1,696 
			  Notes: 1. The table includes terminated awards and does not include overpayments less than 10. 2. The analysis is based on the 1.7 billion total overpayment figure, which is the outstanding stock of overpayments 'at April 2005'. Total overpayments, including overpayments arising after April 2005 were 1.8 billion. 
		
	
	Information on amount of tax credit overpayments written off in 2004-05 and 2005-06 is published in paragraph 2.18 of the Comptroller and Auditor General's Standard Report on the HM Revenue and Customs 2005-06 Accounts.

Treasury Reform Industry Group

David Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what fiscal changes are being considered to the farm landlord-tenancy agreement as a result of the new regulations following the work of the Treasury Reform Industry Group.

John Healey: The Tenancy Reform Industry Group (TRIG) recommended a number of changes to taxation. One concern has been addressed in that in Budget 2003 Capital Gains Tax business asset taper relief was extended to property let to unincorporated traders for their business use (such as individual farmers) from 6 April 2004.
	All taxes are kept under constant review, and any changes are made and announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer as part of the Budget and pre-Budget report (PBR) process. The Group's other suggestions, therefore, continue to be noted.

Treasury Staff

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his Department has a staff magazine.

John Healey: It does.

Widows Pensions

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the rights of widows in respect of pensions.

Edward Balls: Treasury Ministers regularly meet DWP Ministers to discuss a range of issues, including the rights of widows in respect of pensions.

Winter Fuel Payments

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to increase winter fuel payments.

Edward Balls: The Government have committed to winter fuel payments of 200 for households with someone aged 60 or over, and 300 for households with someone aged 80 or over, for the remainder of this Parliament.
	Tax and welfare policy is reviewed annually as part of the Budget process, and any decisions related to the winter fuel payments will be announced at the PBR.

World Bank

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the World Bank fund for investment by developing economies in alternative sources of energy and greater energy efficiency is expected to be established; and how much additional money the UK has contributed to this fund on top of money that the UK already contributes to the World Bank.

Edward Balls: At the Gleneagles summit the UK Government was instrumental in establishing, with the World Bank and the Regional Development Banks, an Energy Investment Framework to mobilise the necessary resources for investment in clean energy projects in developing countries using IFI loans, grants and carbon finance to catalyse private sector investment.
	The World Bank completed the first phase of the implementation programme in the run up to the Development Committee Meeting in September. It will roll out the second phase in the period up to the G-8 summit in 2008. The UK has already announced support for one of the first projects to be developed under the EIF framework, an investment in wind power in Mexico. The Chancellor has also announced, with President Wolfowitz of the World Bank, and the four leading regional development banks, a partnership with the World Economic Forum and the World Business Council on Sustainable Development to explore how to stimulate private sector investment through the Energy Investment Framework.
	The UK has already committed over 15 million specifically to support the EIF, including: 3 million for technical support in developing the EIF and supporting regional dialogue; 10 million to fund posts and programme budgets across the multi-lateral development banks and UNDP over the next three years; and, 3 million to the EBRD's Sustainable Energy Initiative.

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Carbon Footprint

Edward Vaizey: To ask the Leader of the House what measures he is taking to reduce his Office's carbon footprint.

Jack Straw: The majority of the staff of the Privy Council Office (PCO), including my office, are located in premises which are managed by other Government Departments or in the Palace of Westminster. The one building wholly managed by the PCO has not had a specific assessment of its carbon footprint, but is run in accordance with a green procurement policy which seeks to minimise its carbon footprint in a variety of ways. These include the use of energy efficient light bulbs and electrical equipment, minimising energy use and evaluating, as appropriate, the environmental performance of tenderers when relevant to any contracts.

Departmental IT

Mark Hoban: To ask the Leader of the House 
	(1)  which of the Privy Council Office's databases are  (a) wholly and  (b) partly operated by external organisations or individuals; and which organisations and individuals own those databases;
	(2)  which databases operated by his Office are located  (a) wholly and  (b) partly outside the UK; and where each of those databases and parts of databases is located.

Jack Straw: The Office of the Leader of the House of Commons owns the databases it operates. They are hosted, within the UK, by the Cabinet Office via a service level agreement with Hewlett Packard and Domain Technologies, who maintain and develop them.

Early-day Motions

David Amess: To ask the Leader of the House if he will bring forward proposals to establish a requirement for Government departments to respond to Early-day Motions; and if he will make a statement.

Jack Straw: I have no plans to do so.
	The Procedure Committee is currently examining matters relating to EDMs, including the uses currently made of EDMs by Members and others, and exploring what opportunities presently exist, and what others might be introduced, to allow EDMs to be brought before and debated by the House. I look forward to the Committee's recommendations.

House of Lords

David Laws: To ask the Leader of the House what his estimate is of the total costs of the House of Lords for each year since 1990-91, broken down by main budget headings; and if he will make a statement.

Jack Straw: The figures are given in the following table. Expenditure is stated in cash or near-cash equivalents, including capital expenditure, to provide comparison across the period. Non-cash expenditure, e.g. depreciation and cost of capital, accounted for from 2001-02 has been excluded.
	
		
			  House of Lords Expenditure (Net) 
			   Accommodation costs( 1)  General administrative costs, including staff salaries( 1)  Members' attendance expenses  Police and security staff( 2)  Total 
			 1990-91 0 6,558 4,577 5,139 16,274 
			 1991-92 0 7,264 4,990 6,259 18,513 
			 1992-93 10,078 10,971 4,513 6,655 32,217 
			 1993-94 10,918 12,112 6,274 6,956 36,260 
			 1994-95 13,540 12,524 6,496 4,821 37,381 
			 1995-96 14,820 13,571 6,659 4,796 39,846 
			 1996-97 13,639 12,975 7,021 4,884 38,519 
			 1997-98 13,784 13,862 6,579 5,182 39,407 
			 1998-99 13,560 14,921 9,487 5,227 43,195 
			 1999-2000 14,144 15,943 9,390 5,702 45,179 
			 2000-01 15,190 16,644 8,412 5,425 45,671 
			 2001-02 24,258 16,161 10,014 5,895 56,328 
			 2002-03 17,106 20,101 13,386 6,976 57,569 
			 2003-04 19,721 20,698 13,158 7,540 61,117 
			 2004-05 72,874 23,445 14,317 8,191 118,827 
			 2005-06 22,021 22,004 15,426 9,112 68,563 
			 (1) Prior to April 1992 certain services including IT, printing and publications, works and accommodation services were provided by or through Government Departments and agencies on an allied service basis. From April 1992 each House took over responsibility for its share of the expenditure at that time. (2) The percentage of the total security costs for the Parliamentary Estate attributable to the House of Lords is reviewed periodically and has changed over the period of this report.

Petitions

David Amess: To ask the Leader of the House if he will establish a Select Committee on Public Petitions to examine the issues raised in each Petition presented to the House; and what discussions he has had withthe Scottish Parliament on equivalent arrangements there.

Jack Straw: I have no plans to do so but I remain open to representations. I met recently with the Scottish Procedures Committee to discuss this and a wide range of other issues.
	The House of Commons Procedure Committee has a current inquiry into public petitions, and I look forward with interest to the results of that inquiry.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the cost of educating children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder was in the last period for which figures are available; how many such children were in education in that period; and if he will make a statement.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Department does not collect separate figures on the number or cost of educating children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) but the following table provides information showing the number of pupils with behaviour, emotional and social difficulties: these figures include pupils with ADHD:
	
		
			  Maintained nursery, primary, secondary and special schools( 1,2) :Number and percentage of pupils with behaviour, emotional and social difficulties (BESD) ( 3,4) 
			   Number of pupils with BESD  Number of pupils at School Action Plus and with statements of SEN  Percentage of pupils with BESD 
			 Maintained Nursery 210 2,280 9.1 
			 Maintained Primary (1) 55,170 298,570 18.5 
			 Maintained Secondary (1) 66,890 227,490 29.4 
			 Maintained Special (2) 12,120 83,960 14.4 
			 Total 134,380 612,300 21.9 
			 (1) The figures include schools deemed as middle schools. (2) The figures exclude general hospital schools, and dually registered schools. (3) Pupils at School Action Plus and those pupils with statements of SEN provided information on their primary need and, if appropriate, their secondary need. Information on primary need only is shown here. (4) The source is from the Schools' Census as at January 2006.Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. There may be discrepancies between the sum of constituent items and totals as shown.

Business Academy Bexley

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what representations he has received on the Business Academy Bexley;
	(2)  what the  (a) operational budget,  (b) capital budget and  (c) total cost was of the Business Academy Bexley in each year since it opened.

Jim Knight: The Business Academy Bexley opened in September 2002 and moved into its new buildings in September 2003. The academy comprises a primary school, with nursery provision, and an 11-18 secondary school.
	The total capital and revenue grant made available to the academy in each of the years since it opened is shown as follows. The total capital grant includes 2.4 million of sponsorship.
	
		
			   
			  Financial year  Revenue grant  Capital grant including sponsorship  Total grant 
			 2001-02  2,418,731.32 2,418,731.32 
			 2002-03 2,712,838.00 16,689,742.03 19,402,580.03 
			 2003-04 4,153,565.18 11,493,017.06 15,646,582.24 
			 2004-05 6,297,267.15 6,157,243.94 12,454,511.09 
			 2005-06 7,065,553.86 356,101.84 7,421,655.70 
			 2006-07 4,539,185.55  4,539,185.55 
			 Total 24,768,409.74 37,114,836.19 61,883,245.93 
			  Notes: 1.  Bexley Primary opened in September 2004. 2. The figures for 2006-07 show expenditure up to end of October 2006.

Children's Centres

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children's centres offer  (a) training and employment advice,  (b) family support,  (c) access to health visitors and other health service workers and  (d) outreach services to children and families.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 26 October 2006
	Sure Start Children's Centres are at the heart of the Government's Every Child Matters Programme. They are a key vehicle for providing access to a range of integrated services for pre-school children and their parents. By 2010, there will be 3,500 centresone for every community. Good progress is being made on the development of children's centres with over 1,000 centres now supporting families.
	A range of services are provided in children's centres, with all expected to provide the following core services: early years provision; family support and parental outreach; child and family health services; parental involvement and links to training and support through Jobcentre Plus. The nature of services in each centre will be shaped by local need.

Departmental Staff

Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many disabled people were hired by his Department in each of the last five years for which figures are available; what percentage of the overall workforce these figures represented in each year; and how many disabled people left their employment in his Department over the same period.

Parmjit Dhanda: Data on the disabled status of civil service entrants and leavers are available from Cabinet Office for 2005, 2004 and 2003 only. The website address is: http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/management/statistics/reports/index.asp Disability status is self-declared and voluntary. Data in the tables are rounded (to the nearest 10) and suppressed (where numbers are less than five).
	It is not possible to produce a consistent series from earlier years' data without incurring disproportionate costs.

Faith Schools

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of children of  (a) no or  (b) different faiths who are likely to be admitted to faith schools with which they have no affinity under his proposed changes to admission arrangements for faith schools; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: holding answer 30 October 2006
	We are not proposing to change the admission arrangements for faith schools to require them to open a proportion of their places to children of no or other faiths. Many existing faith schools admit children of other or no faith. We do not know the number of children of no or different faiths who are at these schools.

Faith Schools

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what guidance he plans to give to  (a) parents and  (b) faith schools on the nature of acceptable evidence of not being a (i) member and (ii) practising member of the faith of the faith school to which an admissions application is being made for the purposes of the proposed 25 per cent. quota.

Jim Knight: holding answer 30 October 2006
	There are no proposals for a 25 per cent. quota.

Faith Schools

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what consultations he held with leaders of the  (a) Roman Catholic,  (b) Hindu,  (c) Muslim,  (d) Jewish and  (e) Church of England faith in developing his proposals for faith school admissions; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: holding answer 30 October 2006
	We are not proposing any changes to the admission arrangements for new or existing faith schools to require them to open a proportion of their places to children of no or other faiths. We have held a number of discussions with representatives of all faith groups which have schools with a religious character in the maintained sector. This includes members of the Roman Catholic, Muslim, Jewish, Church of England and Sikh faith.

Faith Schools

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to consult  (a) leaders and  (b) members of faith communities on proposals for changes in faith school admissions; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: holding answer 30 October 2006
	We are not proposing any changes to the admission arrangements for new or existing faith schools in order to require them to open a proportion of their places to children of no or other faiths. We have held a number of discussions with representatives of all faith groups which have schools with a religious character in the maintained sector.

Maladministration (Local Education Authorities)

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills by what means a school which has exhausted the internal complaints procedure of the local education authority (LEA) can pursue a maladministration complaint against an LEA.

Jim Knight: holding answer 30 October 2006
	The governing body of a maintained school which has exhausted the internal complaints procedure of the local authority cannot complain to the Local Government Ombudsman that there has been maladministration on the part of the authority, because such a complaint can only be made by a member of the public.
	However, a dispute between a governing body and the local authority as to the exercise of any power conferred by, or the performance of any duty under, the Education Acts may be referred to the Secretary of State under section 495 of the Education Act 1996. In addition, the governing body may complain to the Secretary of State where the allegation is that the authority has acted or is proposing to act unreasonably; where the authority is alleged to have failed to discharge a duty imposed on it; or where the authority is alleged to be failing to perform its functions adequately or at all.

National Enterprise Network

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many schools are participating in the national enterprise network; how many new summer schools in enterprise took place in 2006; and how many scholarships for young British entrepreneurs to American universities the Government have funded in 2006.

Jim Knight: There are 51 expert 'Hub' schools in the Schools' Enterprise Education Network (SEEN) supported by a further 160 'Spoke' schools and five national 'Hubs'. The network embraces all other secondary schools. 23 summer school pathfinders, testing five different models, took place in 2006. 17 participants have been identified for support during the 2006/07 academic year under the US enterprise scholarship scheme for UK university students.

Pensions

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what the arrangements are for the payment of pensions to people who retire early through ill health for each pension scheme for which his Department is responsible; what the incidence of ill health retirement was as a percentage of all retirement for such schemes for each year since 1988-89; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what the current rate of ill health retirement is for each public sector pension scheme for which his Department is responsible; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: The Teachers' Pension Scheme (England and Wales) (TPS) provides for immediate payment of retirement benefits to scheme members who, through illness or injury, are permanently incapacitated for teaching. Enhanced benefits are paid if the illness or injury led to cessation of pensionable employment before the scheme's normal pension age of 60.
	Continuing improvements in the support given by employers to teachers who become ill, in particular the early and effective use of professional occupational health staff, has resulted in a year on year reduction in the numbers of ill health retirements by TPS members.
	A new ill health retirement benefit structure will be introduced into the TPS from January 2007. The requirement for permanent incapacity for teaching will remain, but the severity of the medical condition and its impact on future earnings capacity will determine whether a person is awarded an enhanced or unenhanced level of benefit.
	The following table shows ill health retirements as a percentage of all retirements by teachers working in the maintained schools sector in each year from 1989-90 to 2004-05. The percentages are based on the figures in the following table in the answer to the hon. Member's question on 25 July,  Official Report columns 1471-2W.
	
		
			  Teachers' Pension Scheme (England and Wales): ill health retirements as a percentage of all types of retirement from the maintained schools sector in England by year of award from 1989-90 to 2004-05 
			  Financial year (1 April to 31 March)  Percentage 
			 1989-90 24 
			 1990-91 28 
			 1991-92 29 
			 1992-93 28 
			 1993-94 30 
			 1994-95 33 
			 1995-96 30 
			 1996-97 27 
			 1997-98 18 
			 1998-99 27 
			 1999-00 25 
		
	
	Based on total active scheme membership of the Teachers' Pension Scheme (England and Wales) 590,032 at 31 March 2005 (source: Teachers' Pension Scheme (England and Wales) Resource Accounts 2005-06), the percentage of active scheme members retiring on ill health grounds was 0.37 per cent. The equivalent figure for the maintained schools sector only in 2005-06 was 0.32 per cent.

Pensions

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what savings estimate he has made of the effect on costs of the reforms to public sector pensions agreed with trades unions in 2005 for each year between 2006-07 and 2050-51; and if he will make a statement.

Parmjit Dhanda: The PSF agreement in October 2005 was about reforming normal pension ages in the schemes for civil servants, teachers and the NHS. Annualised savings figures to 2050-51 are not available but the capitalised savings over 50 years were estimated at around 13 billion and savings of at least this amount should be delivered through the scheme reforms once they have been finalised and implemented over the next couple of years.

Sex Education

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of his Department's Let's Leave it till Later campaign; what recent representations he has received about this campaign; how much his Department has spent since its inception; what monitoring of the effectiveness of the campaign is planned by his Department; if he will place in the Library copies of materials and literature produced by  (a) his Department and  (b) the Teenage Pregnancy Unit in relation to this campaign; how many officials are employed by (i) his Department and (ii) the Teenage Pregnancy Unit to promote this campaign, broken down by (A) sex and (B) grade; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: Giving young people the skills and confidence to resist pressure and delay early sex has been an integral part of the Teenage Pregnancy Strategy from the startboth through the national media campaign and in our guidance on sex and relationships education. Data from the independent national evaluation of the strategy show that over the course of the strategy, young people aged 13-17 have become less likely to overestimate the proportion of under 16s having sex and more likely to feel confident to resist pressure from friends. There has been no change in levels of under-age sex since the start of the strategy. The Department has received no representations about this campaign.
	We are now building on this work, by developing new messages on delay for the national campaign and, through the Let's Leave it till Later training programme, giving professionals additional skills to discuss the benefits of delay with younger teenagers. This is part of broader sex and relationships education and training programmes which include information, knowledge and skills to equip young people who are having sex to make safe and responsible choices. The impact of the Let's Leave it till Later training programme is being evaluated as part of the larger evaluation of the Young People Development Programme, being piloted by the Department of Health. The report will be produced in December 2006.
	It is not possible to separate the costs of the peer pressure and delay messages from the overall cost of the national media campaign. The costs contributed by the Teenage Pregnancy Unit to support the Let's Leave it till Later training programme were 16,598 in 2005-06 and 2,546 in 2006-07.
	There are currently seven members of the Teenage Pregnancy Unit. The campaign has been supported by officials in the Department's Communications Unit which has many other duties. It is the Department's policy not to give details about individual officials in response to parliamentary questions.
	A selection of the national campaign materials, including all the current materials on delay, has been placed in the Library.

Special Educational Needs

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the Government's policy is on statementing children with special educational needs; and what guidelines his Department issues on the implementation of the policy.

Parmjit Dhanda: Local authorities have a statutory duty, where necessary, to assess children with special educational needs (SEN) and draw up statements. In carrying out this duty local authorities must have regard to the guidance in the SEN Code of Practice. The Code advises that a local authority should consider carrying out a statutory assessment with a view to drawing up a statement if a child has not responded to the Code's school-based levels of support, School Action and School Action Plus, and that their needs are such that they cannot be met from the resources normally available to mainstream schools.
	Our SEN strategy Removing Barriers to Achievement (2004) set out a long-term programme to improve provision in mainstream schools so that more parents can feel assured that their child's needs are being met without the support of a statement. The proper implementation of this strategy does not lead to a reduction of entitlement: children who might previously have been given a statement will continue to have their needs met from improved school provision and those with severe or complex needs who still require statements would continue to be provided with them.

Sport

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what policy changes he plans to make consequent on the recent statement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer that sport holds the key to a fitter nation.

Jim Knight: The Chancellor's statement reconfirmed the Government's commitment to PE and school sport and sought to build on and maximise the impact of an already successful strategy. The Government remain committed to improving sporting opportunities for all our young people. Our overall aim, a joint DfES/DCMS public service agreement target, is to increase the percentage of five to 16-year-olds who take part in at least two hours high quality PE and school sport each week to 75 per cent. by 2006 and 85 per cent. by 2008. Our long-term aim is that, by 2010, we want to offer all children four hours of sport a week. We are well on track to delivering on our commitments and the 2006 target has already been exceeded by 5 percentage points.

Tablighi Jammaat

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether  (a) Ministers and  (b) others in his Department have met representatives of Tablighi Jammaat during the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

Parmjit Dhanda: This information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Mosquito System

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what discussions he has had with  (a) Compound Security Ltd,  (b) police forces and  (c) crime and disorder reduction partnerships on the Mosquito system; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the Mosquito system manufactured by Compound Security Ltd in terms of its  (a) efficacy in reducing antisocial behaviour and  (b) compliance with the Human Rights Act 1998.

John Reid: There have been no discussions held between the Home Secretary and Compound Security Ltd or with police forces and crime and disorder reduction partnerships on the Mosquito System.
	We encourage local agencies to consider the full range of innovations, schemes and practices intended to reduce crime, the fear of crime and antisocial behaviour. It is for local agencies like the police and local authorities to decide on the most appropriate interventions to tackle antisocial behaviour based on their knowledge of what works best locally. The Home Office does not promote or recommend any particular commercial product or venture above this.
	The use of any device like Mosquito which claims to disperse groups of young people should be treated with caution and if used should form part of an overall strategy to tackle drivers of that anti-social behaviour and to encourage more constructive behaviour.

Asylum/Immigration

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his Department has received any information about a Tamil asylum seeker returned by UK authorities and subsequently killed; and if he will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: We have recently seen reports of the deaths of two individuals in Sri Lanka after they have been returned to Sri Lanka by the UK. We are looking into these with the assistance of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. I will write to my hon. Friend with the result of our inquiries when these have been completed.
	We do not consider on the basis of the information we currently have about these incidents that there is reason to stop the removal of people to Sri Lanka who have had their claims rejected and any appeal dismissed.

Asylum/Immigration

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many postal applications for a variation of leave to remain in the UK were awaiting determination in each quarter since January 2004; and if he will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: The requested information is not available and could be obtained only by examination of individual records at a disproportionate cost.

Asylum/Immigration

Ian Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will provide additional  (a) staff and  (b) resources to deal with the backlog of immigration cases, paying particular attention to those submitted under the 14 year rule.

Liam Byrne: The Immigration and Nationality Directorate is being provided with additional staff to deal with arrears of immigration cases which include applications submitted under the 14-year rule. Further staff are currently being recruited and trained.
	These staff deal with a variety of immigration cases not just those submitted under the 14-year rule.

Asylum/Immigration

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many young people under the age of  (a) 18 and  (b) 10 years are being held for the purposes of immigration control; in which establishments they are held; and how many have been held for (i) six months or less and (ii) over six months.

Liam Byrne: The following table shows the number of persons detained solely under Immigration Act powers as at 25 March 2006, recorded as being under 18, broken down by age and place of detention, having been held for a period of six months or less.
	Information on the number of persons detained, broken down by those who are under 18 years of age is already in the public domain and was published in the Quarterly Asylum Bulletin on the 23 May 2006 on the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html
	
		
			  Minors( 1)  recorded as being held in detention in the United Kingdom solely under Immigration Act powers, as at 25 March 2006, by age and place of detention( 2, 3) 
			  Number of minors 
			   Age of person as at 25 March 2006 
			   Under 10  11-17  Total( 1) 
			 Dungavel (4) (5) (4) 
			 Port of Dover (5) (4) (4) 
			 Tinsley House 5 (5) 5 
			 Yarl's Wood 30 15 45 
			 Total 35 15 50 
			 (1) People in detention recorded as being under 18 as at 25 March 2006. Figures are likely to overstate because applicants aged 18 or over may claim to be younger on arrival in the United Kingdom. (2) Excluding persons detained in police cells and those in dual detention.  (3) Figures rounded to the nearest five.  (4) Zero.  (5 )1 or 2, and may not sum due to rounding.

Cautions (Lancashire)

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of cautions issued by Lancashire Constabulary in each of the last five years were for  (a) first offences,  (b) second offences and  (c) third or subsequent offences.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 24 October 2006
	It is not possible to identify the number of people who received cautions broken down by  (a) first offences,  (b) second offences and  (c) third or subsequent offences in the last five years as the data held centrally are not collected at that level of detail.
	Previous offending is, however, taken into account locally by police officers in deciding whether to issue a caution, reprimand or final warning, or refer the case to the Crown Prosecution Service.

Child Sexual Abuse

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many allegations of sexual abuse of children were made in 2005; and how many resulted in  (a) charges being brought and  (b) an individual being (i) prosecuted and (ii) convicted.

Vernon Coaker: Data for the number of allegations of sexual abuse of children are not held centrally. However information is available about the number of sexual offences recorded by the police where the offence is defined as being against a child e.g. sexual assault on a female aged under 13 years. Statistics for 2005-06 were published in Table 2.04 of Crime in England and Wales 2005-06 in July 2006. A copy of this publication is available at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs06/hosb1206chap2.xls
	Information on the number of charges brought is also not held centrally. Court proceedings data for the number of individuals being (i) prosecuted and (ii) convicted of sexual abuse of children in 2005 will be available in November.

Community Penalties

Humfrey Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offenders have been given a community penalty under the Criminal Justice Act 2003; and how many of those who received such an order  (a) breached the order and  (b) reoffended within six months.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 25 October 2006
	Statistics on court sentencing are due to be published in Sentencing Statistics 2005, a Home Office Statistical Bulletin, early in the new year.
	However, data on persons starting court order supervision by the Probation Service which includes community orders, have been published in Table 1.2 of Offender Management Caseload Statistics Quarterly BriefOctober to December 2005 and are on the Home Office website, as follows:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs06/omcsq405.pdf
	Information on re-offending within six months of a community order being imposed is not available.

Departmental Expenditure

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much the Department and its agencies have spent on  (a) the design and production of new logos and  (b) employing external (i) public relations and (ii) graphic design agencies in each year since 2000, broken down by project.

Liam Byrne: The information that the hon. Gentleman requires is contained in the following table.
	
		
			   Cost ()   
			 2000-01 155,000 New Home Office corporate ID Design, research, project management and drawing-up style guidelines for printed and electronic media 
			 
			 2001-02 120,000 Criminal Records Bureau Design, production of new logos and employing external public relations 
			  2,914 Fire Service branding Design 
			  4,000 Positive Futures branding Design 
			  10,000 Drugs Prevention Advisory Service Rebrand Design 
			 
			 2002-03 200,000 Criminal Records Bureau Design, production of new logos and employing external public relations 
			 
			 2003-04 90,000 Criminal Records Bureau Employing external public relations 
			  45,200 Active Communities Unit Logo development and corporate ID 
			  35,000 Immigration and Nationality Directorate IRIS Recognition Branding Design and production 
			 
			 2004-05 5,500 Home Office Modification and update to branding guidelines 
			  46,000 National Offender Management Service Identity creation, production of artwork and branding guidelines 
			  10,500 Her Majesty's Prison Service Modification of logo and production of branding guidelines 
			  10,230 National Probation Service Modification of logo and production of branding guidelines 
			  4,998.50 Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority Logo update and literature production update 
			  21,890 Tackling Drugs, Changing Lives programme Design and production of new logo for cross government programme 
			  4,260 Senior Careers Advisory Service Design and production of new materials 
			  4,395 Immigration and Nationality Directorate Search and registration of IRIS logo 
			  15,280 CENTREX Police Training Branding Design and production 
			 2005-06 734 Senior Careers Advisory Service Final production costs related to 2004-05 work 
			  600 The Information Commissioner Logo design development 
			  10,280 Drugs Intervention Programme Production to refresh programme materials in line with core Tackling Drugs, Changing Lives cross government brand 
			  56,733 Respect Development of Respect branding including research with public and production of brand guidelines for local delivery partners 
			  3,760 CENTREX Branding Final production 
			  10,080 Criminal Justice IT Programme Design and production of materials to support programme 
			  Note:  All costs include any use of external agencies

Departmental Staff

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment the Government have made of whether the cleaners in his Department recently detained by the immigration and nationality directorate  (a) were on the electoral roll at their home addresses and  (b) had national insurance numbers; and if he will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 5 June 2006
	Prior to any operation, our normal practice is to check the details of any alleged offender against the electoral roll and where appropriate NI records. In this particular case, the individuals were arrested immediately on Home Office premises and so no such checks were required.

Deportations

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the safety of individuals deported to Algeria.

Liam Byrne: I replied to the hon. Member on23 October 2006,  Official Report, column 1678W.

Driving Licences (Criminal Records Checks)

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Criminal Records Bureau disclosure applications for private driver licences are outstanding in the Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme area; and what the timescales are for their completion.

Joan Ryan: The information sought by my hon. Friend is not available. The Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) is unable to provide information on Disclosure applications based on geographical areas.
	The CRB aims to complete all Disclosure applications within the shortest time possible, while operating to a published service standard (PSS) of issuing 90 per cent. of Standard Disclosures within10 days and 90 per cent. of Enhanced Disclosures within 28 days.
	Some Disclosures do take only a matter of days, while others can take considerably longer. There are a number of factors that can affect the timely completion of checks, including but not restricted to, the accurate completion of the application form, the clarity of the information provided and the existence of conviction or non-conviction information. A further factor is the operational effectiveness of the Disclosure Units of the police forces involved in the Enhanced Disclosure process and the CRB publishes police force performance on its website at www.crb.gov.uk.

Drug Offenders

Dennis Skinner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many convicted drug offenders are participating in rehabilitation schemes in prison.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Information is not available in the format requested. A survey of all prisoners engaging with the CARAT Counselling, Assessment, Referral, Advice and Throughcare service in 2004-05 showed that 10.8 per cent. reported drug offences as their main offence.
	This is consistent with the fact that problematic drug misusers tend to be convicted of a wide range of offences rather than offences specifically against the Misuse of Drugs Act.

Extradition

Dawn Butler: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the evidential requirements for extradition to the United States from the United Kingdom are the same as those for extradition to the United Kingdom from the United States.

Joan Ryan: The Extradition Act 2003 requires the US to provide
	information that would justify the issue of a warrant for the arrest of a person accused of the offence within the Judge's jurisdiction, if the person whose extradition is requested is accused of the commission of the offence.
	When the request is made by the UK, probable cause must be shown. While it is impossible to precisely equate provisions in the laws of different countries, these provisions are broadly comparable.
	It should be noted that the US must itself meet the probable cause test domestically before making an extradition request to any country, including the UK. Regardless of any provision of UK law there is, therefore, in practice reciprocity for extradition requests to and from the US.

Final Warnings

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many people received a final warning having previously received a reprimand in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many  (a) reprimands and  (b) final warnings were issued in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Gerry Sutcliffe: It is not possible to identify the number of people who received a final warning and who previously received a reprimand, as the data held centrally are not collected to that level of detail.
	Previous offending is, however, taken into account locally by police officers in deciding whether to issue a reprimand or final warning, or refer the case to the Crown Prosecution Service.

Firearms

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effect of the ban on hand-held firearms on the number of illegal shooting incidents; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: The Firearms (Amendment) Acts of 1997 which placed handguns into the prohibited weapons category were introduced to ensure, as far as possible, that the terrible events of 13 March 1996 at Dunblane Primary School, when 16 children and a teacher were shot dead by a man with a handgun which he held legally on a firearm certificate, would never happen again. In 2004-05, Firearms were reported to have been used in 22,789 recorded crimes (including air weapons). This is a 5 per cent. reduction on the previous year. Offences involving handguns fell by15 per cent. in 2004-05.

Fireworks

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individuals have been prosecuted under the Fireworks Act 2003 in the South Wales police area, broken down by offence; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The court proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform shows that there have been no prosecutions reported in 2004 under the Fireworks Act 2003 in the South Wales police force area. Data for 2005 will be available in November.
	Offences under the Fireworks Act 2003 for breach of the fireworks curfew, possession of category four fireworks, and possession by a person under 18 of an adult firework were added to the PND Scheme on 11 October 2004. However there have been no reports of penalty notices issued by South Wales police force area in 2004 and 2005 (provisional data) for these offences.

Foreign Prisoners

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether  (a) any of the convicted foreign nationals who were released without being considered for deportation and  (b) foreign national terror suspects hold national insurance numbers(i) legitimately and (ii) fraudulently; and if he will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: Appropriate checks have been carried out by the relevant agencies on the 1,013 foreign national prisoners released without deportation consideration. These checks were conducted on a case by case basis and not held centrally and so the overall results are available only at disproportionate cost. Similarly, the information requested about terror suspects is not held centrally.

Dartmoor Prison

Geoffrey Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps his Department is taking to resolve the dispute between the prison service and residents of Grosvenor House, Barracks Road, Princetown over the proposed sale of the property.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Matters relating to the dispute between residents of Grosvenor House, Barracks Road, Princetown and Dartmoor prison is being dealt with under the Prison Service Joint Industrial Procedure Agreements (JIPRA) procedures.

Human Trafficking

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what additional steps the Government plan to take at ports of entry to identify  (a) trafficked people and  (b) traffickers following the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the EU.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 18 September 2006
	A range of operational measures have beenand continue to be developed by operational planning groups. Many must remain confidential. Support to Romania and Bulgaria however will include building intelligence-led infrastructure within their respective law enforcement units to tackle organised immigration crime and share intelligence; funding training and specialist equipment for organised crime analysts dealing with migration and trafficking in the new country-wide risk assessment units in Romania; providing forgery detection equipment and training for Bulgarian border police, and sharing UK expertise through contributing short-term experts to EU Twinning projects which focus on border management issues.

Illegal Migrants

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he plans to take steps to enable an estimate to be made of the illegal migrant population resident in the UK.

Liam Byrne: Since the dismantling of embarkation controls in 1994 it has been impossible to count the number leaving the UK, and impossible to estimate how many remain.
	The IND Review Fair, effective, transparent and trusted; Rebuilding Confidence in our Immigration System, published in July 2006, sets out our plans to extend exit controls in stages based on risk, identify who overstays and by 2014 count everyone in and out. The e-borders programme will assist in this transformation.

Immigration and Nationality Directorate

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the  (a) average waiting time and  (b) longest individual waiting time experienced by hon. Members waiting for responses from the immigration and nationality directorate has been in each of the last 12 months.

Liam Byrne: For the 12 month period up to and including September the average waiting time for responses to letters from hon. Members to the immigration and nationality directorate (IND) was23 days in respect of correspondence on IND matters.
	The longest individual waiting time experienced by hon. Members for February this year, the last month for which figures are available, was 152 days in respect of correspondence on IND matters. Although this represents an improvement the IND Review, Rebuilding confidence in our immigration system (July 2006), underlined the need for further improvement.

Migration

Humfrey Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many nationals of EU member states have settled in the UK  (a) alone and  (b) with family members in each of the last five years.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 26 October 2006
	There is no requirement for European economic area (EEA) nationals to register with the authorities in order to exercise treaty rights allowing them to reside legally within the UK. As such, the Home Office does not have statistics to show how many nationals of European Union (EU) member states have settled in the UK.
	Statistics on the issue and refusal of residence documentation (excluding the Worker Registration Scheme) to EEA nationals and their family members are published annually in Command Papers entitled Control of Immigration: Statistics United Kingdom. The 2005 publication is available from the Library of the House and via the Home Office website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html

Miscarriages of Justice

Edward O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what  (a) financial and  (b) other assistance is given to (i) a person who is released from prison following the quashing of his conviction after a miscarriage of justice and (ii) the (A) family and (B) legal personal representative of a person whose conviction has been quashed who has died.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Home Office is funding the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux to provide an advice and assistance service to those who have been released from prison following a successful appeal against conviction. This service, known as the Miscarriages of Justice Support Service, is based at the Royal Courts of Justice in London. It provides advice and assistance to clients on a one-to-one basis in respect of such matters as: obtaining sufficient documentation relating to identity, gaining access to accommodation, social security benefits, local health care services and other mainstream provision. It also assists with practical day-to-day matters, such as opening bank accounts. This service does not extend to family members or legal personal representatives of those who have died prior to the quashing of their convictions. The aim of the service is to provide immediate assistance to those who find themselves suddenly released from custody.
	Family members and the legal personal representatives of those who have died prior to the quashing of their conviction can, if an application for compensation under section 133 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 is approved, seek financial recompense for the non-pecuniary and pecuniary losses sustained by the deceased. They are able, within their financial claim, to include their own expenses incurred in visiting the deceased while in custody, any campaign costs associated with the case, and legal costs. Since 19 April 2006, legal costs are based on legal assistance help rates.

Motoring Offences

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people who are under the age of 17 years have been banned from driving.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Available information, taken from the Court Proceedings Database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform, shows that for England and Wales in 2004 (latest available) 5,100(1) persons aged under 17 years were given a disqualification from driving by the courts.
	(1) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete However it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts, and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Multi-agency Public Protection Arrangements

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which agencies participate in multi-agency public protection arrangements.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) are established by statute (the Criminal Justice  Court Services Act 2000 as amended by the Criminal Justice Act 2003). The law requires the police, prison and probation services (the Responsible Authority) in each of the 42 Areas of England and Wales to establish arrangements for the assessment and management of risk posed by certain sexual and violent offenders. It also places the following agencies under a duty to co-operate with the Responsible Authority:
	youth offending teams;
	the Ministers of the Crown exercising functions in relation to social security, child support, war pensions, employment and training (at a local level the duty effectively lies with Jobcentre Plus);
	local education authorities;
	local housing authorities or social services authorities;
	registered social landlords who provide or manage residential accommodation in which MAPPA offenders reside or may reside;
	health authorities or strategic health authorities;
	primary care trusts or local health boards;
	NHS trusts; and
	Electronic monitoring services providers.
	The Strategic Management Board for each area, led by the Responsible Authority and which now includes lay advisers, is required to keep the arrangements under review, which will include ensuring participation within MAPPA.

Police Cells

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what nightly rate is paid by the Immigration Service for the use of police cells to each police force.

Liam Byrne: Immigration Service opened negotiations in October 2005, directly with a number of police forces, about the rates they charge for the use of police cells and discussions continue. The negotiations are based on a standard charging methodology which takes account of local circumstances. The following table shows, in ranges, the rates payable as at the date of the request, and indicates where rates have been agreed as a result of the negotiations since October 2005.
	
		
			  Police force  
			  Range: Up to 199 per 24 hours  
			 Avon and Somerset Negotiated Rate 
			 Bedfordshire Negotiated Rate 
			 Cambridgeshire Negotiated Rate 
			 Cheshire Negotiated Rate 
			 Cleveland Negotiated Rate 
			 Cumbria  
			 Essex Negotiated Rate 
			 Gloucestershire Negotiated Rate 
			 Hertfordshire Negotiated Rate 
			 Lancashire Negotiated Rate 
			 Leicestershire Negotiated Rate 
			 Norfolk  
			 North Yorkshire Negotiated Rate 
			 Wiltshire Negotiated Rate 
			   
			  Range : 200 to 299 per 24 hours  
			 Dyfed Powys  
			 Gwent  
			 Nottinghamshire  
			 Northumbria  
			 Northern Ireland  
			 Warwickshire  
			   
			  Range: 300 to 399 per 24 hours  
			 Devon and Cornwall  
			 Greater Manchester  
			 Hampshire  
			 Humberside  
			 Lincolnshire  
			 Northamptonshire  
			 Staffordshire  
			 West Midlands  
			 West Mercia  
			   
			  Range 400 to 499 per 24 hours  
			 Dorset  
			 Kent  
			 South Yorkshire  
			 Thames Valley  
			   
			  Range: 500 to 1,000 per 24 hours  
			 Grampian  
			 Highland council  
			 Metropolitan  
			 North Wales  
			 West Yorkshire  
			 South Wales  
			 Surrey  
			 Sussex  
			   
			  Over 1,000  
			 Merseyside  
			  Notes:  (i) There are small variations to rates depending on individual circumstances of detentions (e.g. number of meals, clothing required, length of stay, etc), hence why rates are banded rather than provided as specific figures; (ii) Different rates apply to the hire of full custody suites, as opposed to utilising existing facilities; (iii) In most cases, interpreter and medical examination costs are charged separately at cost, in addition to the above rates; (iv) Those police forces which do not charge or to whom payments made are ad hoc/for incidentals only are not shown. (v) Merseyside police have not been invoicing due to administrative difficulties and have only recently been approached about the level of their charges.

Prison Resettlement Programmes

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effect of delays in categorising inmates on the work of effective resettlement programmes in prisons; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 24 October 2006
	All convicted prisoners must be categorised as soon as possible after sentencing. Arrangements are in place to ensure that documents vital to the risk assessment process, without which categorisation cannot proceed, are obtained as quickly as possible.
	We are not aware of any significant delays in the categorisation process which may affect access to resettlement programmes available in prisons.

Fireworks Act

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many individuals have been prosecuted under the Fireworks Act 2003 in the Lancashire Constabulary area, broken down by offence.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The court proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform shows that there have been no prosecutions reported in 2004 under the Fireworks Act 2003 in the Lancashire Constabulary area. Data for 2005 will be available in November 2006.
	In addition, penalty notices for disorder (PND) can be issued for a number of offences under the Fireworks Act 2003. The offences of breach of the fireworks curfew, possession of category four fireworks, and possession by a person under 18 of an adult firework were added to the PND Scheme on 11 October 2004. The number of penalty notices issued for each specified offence by Lancashire Constabulary for 2004, 2005 and 2006 (provisional) is shown in the attached table.
	
		
			  Number of penalty notices for disorder issued in the Lancashire constabulary area for offences under the Fireworks Act 2003, broken down by offence in 2004 and 2005( 1,2) 
			  Offence  2004  2005  2006( 3) 
			 Breach of the fireworks curfew 2 2 1 
			 Possession of category 4 fireworks 0 1 1 
			 Possession by a person under 18 of an adult firework 1 5 0 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the police forces and courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) Provisional data from January to June 2006.

Prisons

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Category  (a) A,  (b) B,  (c) C and  (d) D prisoners there were in each of the last four quarters in England and Wales.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Information on the numbers of prisoners held in prison establishments in England and Wales in the four quarters between September 2005 and June 2006, as provided by the prison IT system, is shown in the following table.
	The figures provided have been drawn from administrative IT systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system, and the totals have been rounded.
	
		
			  Population( 1)  of category A, B, C, and D prisoners at prison establishments in England and Wales 
			   Category A  Category B  Category C  Category D 
			 September 2005 700 8,200 34,450 5,400 
			 December 2005 700 8,300 34,000 5,000 
			 March 2006 650 8,550 35,000 5,000 
			 June 2006 700 8,650 35,700 4,800 
			 (1)Totals will not add to total prison numbers because (i) many prisoners recently sentenced are under assessment for security classification; and (ii) the security categories do not apply to remand prisoners, women, or young offenders.

Prisons

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which prisons reported a serious drug problem in the last period for which figures are available; what action is being taking to reduce the level of drugs in prisons; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The best measure of drug misuse in prisons is provided by the random mandatory drug testing (MDT) programme. The year to date percentage positive rates for each prison is given in the following table.
	A comprehensive series of measures is in place to reduce the supply of and demand for drugs by prisoners including:
	 Supply Reduction
	passive and active drug dogs;
	closed circuit television systems and fixed and low-level furniture;
	closed visits and visit bans on visitors suspected of smuggling drugs;
	searching strategies;
	sharing of intelligence with police about drug routes into prisons;
	the use of the Supply Reduction Good Practice Guide; and
	mandatory and voluntary drug testing programmes.
	 Demand Reduction
	Clinical management of substance misuse;
	Counselling, Assessment, Referral, Advice and Through-care services; and
	Drug treatment programmes
	
		
			  Random MDT percentage positive rates (April to November 2005) 
			   Percentage 
			 Brixton 30.6 
			 Forest Bank 27.2 
			 Leyhill 25.7 
			 North Sea Camp 23.7 
			 Kirkham 22.5 
			 Ashwell 20.9 
			 Featherstone 20.9 
			 Preston 20.7 
			 Liverpool 19.9 
			 Hollesley Bay 19.8 
			 Thorn Cross 19.1 
			 Wellingborough 19.0 
			 Nottingham 18.4 
			 Pentonville 18.3 
			 Birmingham 17.5 
			 Blakenhurst 17.5 
			 Camp Hill 17.4 
			 Coldingley 17.3 
			 Wealstun 17.1 
			 Maidstone 17.0 
			 Highpoint 16.6 
			 Leeds 16.6 
			 Shrewsbury 16.5 
			 Hull 16.4 
			 Haverigg 16.3 
			 Parkhurst 16.1 
			 Rye Hill 16.0 
			 Durham 15.9 
			 Blundeston 15.8 
			 Guys Marsh 15.8 
			 Gloucester 15.6 
			 Dovegate 15.3 
			 Peterborough (Male) 15.3 
			 Norwich 15.2 
			 Bedford 15.1 
			 Erlestoke 14.6 
			 Low Newton 14.4 
			 Wandsworth 14.4 
			 Kingston 14.2 
			 Ford 14.0 
			 Sudbury 14.0 
			 Onley 13.9 
			 Wormwood Scrubs 13.9 
			 Brockhill 13.6 
			 High Down 13.1 
			 Lincoln 13.1 
			 Dorchester 12.6 
			 Garth 12.5 
			 Exeter 12.1 
			 Acklington 11.9 
			 Styal 11.9 
			 Winchester 11.9 
			 Cardiff 11.8 
			 Canterbury 11.6 
			 Spring Hill 11.5 
			 Eastwood Park 11.4 
			 Manchester 11.3 
			 Stocken 11.3 
			 Standford Hill 11.2 
			 Swansea 11.2 
			 Risley 11.0 
			 Altcourse 10.9 
			 Bristol 10.9 
			 Bullingdon 10.7 
			 Long Lartin 10.7 
			 National Rate 10.7 
			 Chelmsford 10.3 
			 Stafford 10.3 
			 Belmarsh 10.1 
			 Peterborough (Female) 10.1 
			 Wymott 9.8 
			 Holme House 9.5 
			 Castington 9.3 
			 Feltham 9.3 
			 Moorland Open 9.1 
			 Mount 9.1 
			 Bronzefield 9.0 
			 Leicester 9.0 
			 Lewes 9.0 
			 Dartmoor 8.4 
			 Lancaster Farms 8.2 
			 Ranby 8.2 
			 Lindholme 7.8 
			 Parc 7.8 
			 Brinsford 7.7 
			 Everthorpe 7.1 
			 Foston Hall 7.0 
			 Swaleside 7.0 
			 New Hall 6.9 
			 Holloway 6.8 
			 Lowdham Grange 6.8 
			 Doncaster 6.6 
			 Hewell Grange 6.2 
			 Woodhill 5.9 
			 Werrington 5.8 
			 Channings Wood 5.7 
			 Swinfen Hall 5.6 
			 Elmley 5.1 
			 Rochester 5.1 
			 Usk\Prescoed 5.1 
			 Weare 4.8 
			 Portland 4.4 
			 Glen Parva 4.2 
			 Hindley 4.2 
			 Littlehey 4.1 
			 East Sutton Park 3.7 
			 Aylesbury 3.6 
			 Huntercombe 3.5 
			 Reading 3.5 
			 Whitemoor 3.4 
			 Moorland 3.3 
			 Wayland 3.2 
			 Deerbolt 3.1 
			 Lancaster 3.1 
			 Wakefield 2.9 
			 Edmunds Hill 2.8 
			 Buckley Hall 2.7 
			 Frankland 2.6 
			 Askham Grange 2.5 
			 Bullwood Hall 2.5 
			 Latchmere House 2.4 
			 Warren Hill 2.4 
			 Full Sutton 2.2 
			 Gartree 2.2 
			 Stoke Heath 2.2 
			 Whatton 2.0 
			 Drake Hall 1.7 
			 Kirklevington 1.7 
			 Cookham Wood 1.5 
			 Downview 1.5 
			 Wetherby 1.5 
			 Albany 1.4 
			 Shepton Mallet 1.4 
			 Northallerton 1.3 
			 Verne 1.3 
			 Ashfield 1.2 
			 Grendon 0.9 
			 Morton Hall 0.8 
			 Wolds 0.8 
			 Send 0.6 
			 Blantyre House 0.0

Prisons

Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many category C prisoners have been transferred to Ford prison in each month since 1 January; and how many of these have subsequently absconded.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Ford is an open prison and only category D prisoners are transferred there.

Prisons

Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign national prisoners removed from Ford prison on 26 May  (a) have been transferred back to Ford prison and  (b) are due to be returned to Ford prison.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The position as of 17 October is as follows. Following thorough individual risk assessments, 19 of the 142 foreign national prisoners who were moved from Ford prison on 26 May 2006 have been returned there, and one is awaiting transfer. Three others assessed as suitable to return to Ford were released on completion of their sentence before the transfer could be effected. A further five prisoners were transferred to other open prisons.

Prisons

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 13 July 2006,  Official Report, columns 2030-31W, on prisons, if he will make it his policy to collect centrally information on discharges from HM prisons.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The new National Offender Management Service computer system being rolled out across the prison estate in England and Wales by the end of 2008 will provide this facility. It will also assist in providing central identification of prisoners who return to custody having been unlawfully at large.

Probation Service

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will extend the term of office of members of probation boards in areas where it has not been possible to recruit replacements for those members whose term of office has ended; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The application period for chairsand members of probation boards closed on 9 and16 October 2006 respectively and the numbers received were for chair, 719 and for members, 2,300. As the respective vacancies stand at 30 and 296 this is an excellent result, which we anticipate will produce sufficient quality candidates to fill the chair and board member vacancies. At this stage I do not, therefore propose to extend the term of office of any chairs or board members. However if after the interview stage there remains a shortfall in either category I will consider amending the relevant statutory instruments.

Probation Service

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications he has received to serve as a member of the Hampshire Probation Board.

Gerry Sutcliffe: We have received 47 applications for chair of the Hampshire Probation Board and 91 for members.

Probation Service

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people are serving on the Hampshire Probation Board; when the term of office of each person serving ends; how many vacancies there are on the board; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The number of members serving onthe Hampshire Probation Board totals 13 including the chair; of these 11 members' terms expire on the 31 March 2007 and two members of the boardwere appointed from 31 January 2006 and can serve to 30 January 2009 before seeking reappointment for a second and final term. The 13 serving members exclude the judge (appointed by the Department for Constitutional Affairs) and the chief officer who serves on the board ex officio.

Road Safety

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many road accidents there have been in each of the last five years where one of the cars involved did not have its headlights switched on.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information is not collected centrally by my Department.

Romania/Bulgaria

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to prevent those involved in criminal activities in Romania and Bulgaria receiving entry clearance to the UK when those countries join the EU in January 2007; and if he will establish a system of information-sharing with the Romanian and Bulgarian police to this end.

Liam Byrne: Upon accession to the European Union, Bulgarian and Romanian nationals will enjoy the same free movement rights as other EEA nationals across the EU, and therefore will no longer need a visa to enter the United Kingdom. The UK, like other member states, can refuse admission to EEA nationals on public policy, public security and public health grounds, as defined by directive 2004/38/EC.
	UK law enforcement agencies are working closely with their Romanian and Bulgarian counterparts to share information, to ensure that we can swiftly and effectively tackle any impact that Bulgarian and Romanian accession may have on crime in the UK.

Safety Cameras

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what percentage of successful convictions were made in each year since 1997 for speeding offences on the basis of successfully recorded photographs.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Data from 1997-2004 (latest available) are given in the table.
	2005 data will be available early in 2007.
	
		
			  Number and proportion of total findings of guilt( 1)  at magistrates courts for speed limit offences( 2) , England and Wales, 1997-2004 
			  Number of offences 
			   Speed limit offences( 2)  Of which: Detected by camera( 3,4) 
			   Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage 
			 1997 132,800 100 43,800 33 
			 1998 153,500 100 59,100 39 
			 1999 153,600 100 68,300 44 
			 2000 141,400 100 96,700 68 
			 2001(5) 135,600 100 121,800 90 
			 2002 124,600 100 86,500 69 
			 2003 140,000 100 106,200 76 
			 2004 143,200 100 102,000 71 
			 (1) Includes cases where fixed penalty notices were originally issued but not paid and subsequently referred to court. (2) Offences under the Road Traffic Regulations Act 1984 and Motor Vehicles (Speed Limits on Motorways) Regulations 1973. (3) Estimated from combining data from OCJR's Court Proceedings Database and separate data from the police. (4) Automatic cameras until 1998, all camera types from 1999. (5) Following successful pilots the safety camera programme was rolled out nationally from August 2001. By the end of 2004, 39 police forces had joined the scheme.  Note: Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when these data are used.

Safety Cameras

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what proportion of speed camera tickets were issued to drivers under the age of 25 years in the last period for which figures are available;
	(2)  how many fixed penalty notices were issued for speeding offences caught by  (a) speed cameras and  (b) traffic officers in each year since 1997; how many fixed penalty notices were paid in relation to speeding offences; how many court proceedings were started in relation to speeding offences; and how many (i) guilty and (ii) not guilty verdicts were reached in relation to speeding offences.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Data collated centrally on fixed penalty notices issued do not identify the age of offenders.
	Fixed penalty notices issued for speeding offences by detection method is provided in Table A. This shows the number of 'substantive' fixed penalty notices issued i.e. where a conditional offer is accepted (paid).
	Information on fixed penalty notices not paid is collected centrally by type of notice (endorsable or non-endorsable) only and not by type of offence.
	Court proceedings data on speed limit offences by result are given in Table B. 2005 data will be available early in 2007.
	
		
			  Table A: Fixed penalty notices issued( 1)  for speed limit offences( 2)  by detection method, England and Wales, 1997-2004 
			  Number of offences 
			  Detection method  Detected by camera( 3)  Not by camera( 4)  Total 
			 1997 288,600 424,200 712,800 
			 1998 338,800 442,200 781,000 
			 1999 423,000 382,500 805,500 
			 2000 599,200 342,500 941,700 
			 2001 877,500 273,600 1,151,100 
			 2002 1,135,400 271,900 1,407,300 
			 2003 1,670,000 224,800 1,894,800 
			 2004 1,786,000 138,400 1,924,400 
			 (1) Paid i.e., no further action. (2) Offences under the Road Traffic Regulations Act 1984 and Motor Vehicles (Speed Limits on Motorways) Regulations 1973. (3) Automatic cameras until 1998, all camera types from 1999. (4) By traffic police observation.  Note: Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when these data are used. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table B: Number of proceedings( 1)  at magistrates courts for speed limit offences( 2 ) by outcome, England and Wales, 1997-2004 
			  Number of offences 
			   Total proceedings( 1)  Proceedings discontinued( 3)  Charge withdrawn( 4)  Charge dismissed( 5)  Findings of guilt 
			 1997 143,400 700 8,000 700 132,800 
			 1998 166,200 800 9,200 900 153,500 
			 1999 168,100 800 11,500 900 153,600 
			 2000 154,700 700 11,000 900 141,400 
			 2001 150,300 800 12,000 1,300 135,600 
			 2002 144,200 900 17,100 1,000 124,600 
			 2003 165,500 1,100 22,300 1,700 140,000 
			 2004 172,300 1,200 26,000 1,600 143,200 
			 (1) Includes cases where fixed penalty notices were originally issued but not paid and subsequently referred to court. (2) Offences under the Road Traffic Regulations Act 1984 and Motor Vehicles (Speed Limits on Motorways) Regulations 1973. (3) Discontinuance of proceedings under S23(3) Prosecution of Offences Act 1985. (4) No evidence offered, not proceeded against or charge withdrawn. (5) Information dismissed under S9 Magistrates' Courts Act 1980.  Notes: 1. It is known that for some police force areas, the reporting of court proceedings in particular those relating to summary motoring offences, may be less than complete. 2. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when these data are used.

MINISTER FOR WOMEN

Community Facilities

David Taylor: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what assessment she has made of the extent to which there is a need for young women to access female-only community facilities.

Meg Munn: holding answer 26 October 2006
	There has been no formal assessment of the need for young women to access female-only community facilities.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Community Cohesion

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will place in the Library copies of the minutes of the meeting she had with local authorities on 16 October on community cohesion; and if she will make a statement.

Meg Munn: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, met chief executives of local authorities from across the country as well as police and Government office representatives in central London on 16 October. The purpose of this private meeting was to discuss how the Department for Communities and Local Government can work with these stakeholders to tackle extremism and no formal minute was taken.

Connect to Your Council Campaign

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the cost was of the Connect to Your Council campaign; and what assessment she has made of the effect of the campaign on demand for online services.

Angela Smith: The Connect to your Council Take-Up campaign was launched in England in May 2006 with a 3.4 million media budget. Market research commissioned by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) from Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS) shows that 21 per cent. of respondents who were able to recall the advertising declared that they had already visited their council website as a result of the Connect to your Council campaign. This translates into 1.3 million visits to the campaign home page and other local government pages of the Directgov website during the first burst of advertising between May to July 2006, with an increase of 88 per cent. in people accessing council websites from one in 11 of the adult population in England pre-campaign to one in six post campaign. Copies of the Central Office of Information (COI) evaluation report on the impact of the first burst of the campaign are available from the DCLG website.

Council Tax

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what her most recent estimate is of the amount of council tax paid by members of the armed forces serving overseas.

Phil Woolas: My Department has made no estimate made of the amount of council tax paid by members of the armed forces serving overseas.

Council Tax

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will make it her policy to exempt members of the armed forces from council tax while they are posted overseas.

Phil Woolas: As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced to the House on 11 October 2006,  Official Report, column 298, my Department is discussing with the Ministry of Defence how best to provide support for the council tax costs of service personnel on operations abroad.

Departmental IT

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which of her Department's databases are  (a) wholly and  (b) partly operated by external organisations or individuals; and which organisations and individuals own those databases.

Angela Smith: Most of the Department's databases, including those associated with Websites, receive varying degrees of externally provided support in respect of hardware, software and data. A detailed breakdown of these support regimes is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The ownership of the data stored on these databases resides either with the Department or with third-party data suppliers, under commercial agreements.

Empty Dwellings

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many abandoned homes there are in each local authority area in England.

Yvette Cooper: Information is not held centrally on the number of abandoned homes and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Energy Surveyors

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many accredited Reduced Data Standard Assessment Procedure energy surveyors there are.

Yvette Cooper: There are many thousands of people with relevant skills and experience who should be able to qualify quickly as domestic energy assessors once the stand-alone qualification for domestic energy assessors is available early next year and RdSAP software packages have been approved. These are in addition to home inspectors who are already qualified or in training.

Fire Stations

Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many  (a) retained and  (b) non-retained fire stations are fitted with smoke alarms.

Angela Smith: The information requested is not held centrally.

Household Numbers

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the factors underlying the change in the number of households since 1990-91.

Yvette Cooper: An analysis of the components of growth in household numbers between 1991 and 2003 is listed as follows. Household growth has been split into the four principal factors generating additional households.
	The components are:
	 (a) the projected growth of the total adult private household population;
	 (b) the change in the age structure of the population;
	 (c) changes in the marital status of the population, including proportions cohabiting, as well as legal marital status; and
	 (d) changes in household formation rates specific for age, sex, legal marital status and cohabitation.
	The figures include a remainder which shows the change due to interaction between the components, for instance, the combined effect of increasing population and changes in the age distribution.
	
		
			  Components of household growth: England: 1991 to 2003 
			   Percentage 
			 Growth in the adult population 55 
			 Aging population 27 
			 Marital status distribution -14 
			 Household formation rates 16 
			 Interaction of the components (remainder) 16

Housing

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what percentage of building on brownfield sites took place on residential land in  (a) Bournemouth and  (b) Dorset in each of the last five years.

Yvette Cooper: The information available is from the Department's land use change statistics.
	Estimated proportions are shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Percentage 
			   Bournemouth  Dorset 
			   New dwellings on previously residential land as a proportion of all dwellings  Proportion of new dwellings on Greenfield land  Proportion of new dwellings on Brownfield land  New dwellings on previously residential land as a proportion of all dwellings  Proportion of new dwellings on Greenfield land  Proportion of new dwellings on Brownfield land 
			 1990 76 5 95 41 45 55 
			 1991 45 39 61 29 58 42 
			 1992 45 7 93 33 42 58 
			 1993 17 10 90 19 46 54 
			 1994 16 50 50 20 49 51 
			
			 1995 24 9 91 18 48 52 
			 1996 51 8 92 30 49 51 
			 1997 35 23 77 23 48 52 
			 1998 43 7 93 28 37 63 
			 1999 61 2 92 33 37 63 
			
			 2000 39 17 83 28 48 52 
			 2001 31 5 95 29 35 65 
			 2002 38 3 97 31 30 70 
			 2003 46  100 33 26 74 
			 2004 67  100 34 35 65 
			
			  Average   
			 2000-04 43 4 96 31 33 67 
		
	
	The proportions are variable from year to year. The average over a five year period is more representative for any comparisons between local authorities.

Housing

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Hammersmith and Fulham, of 4 September 2006,  Official Report, column 1661W, on housing, what the size of the clusters used is in the analysis; and whether the clusters are coterminous with local government wards.

Yvette Cooper: The clusters derived by the Office for National Statistics used in the DCLG house price index vary considerably in size from a few local authorities to over 40 local authorities.

Housing

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Edmonton of 2 October 2006,  Official Report, column 2537W, on housing, how much was allocated to each of the funding streams.

Yvette Cooper: That figure of 4.1 billion was derived from the investment amounts of various capital streams, as follows:
	
		
			million 
			  Capital stream  Funding 
			 Arms Length Management Organisations 577 
			 Disabled Facilities Grant 106 
			 Major Repairs Allowance 1,406 
			 Private Sector Housing Renewal 5 
			 Local Authority Supported Capital Expenditure 741 
			 Local Authority Capital Grants 54 
			 Estate Action 3 
			 Housing Action Trusts 45 
			 Gap Funding 2 
			 Housing Market Renewal Pathfinders 197 
			 Housing Corporation's Affordable Housing Programme l,636 
		
	
	The sum of the capital streams detailed in this table, 4.772 billion, is greater than the figure of 4.1 billion referred to in previous answers.
	The figure of 4.1 billion took into account local authority HRA subsidy surpluses, recycled within the HRA subsidy regime and used in support of certain items. As recycled HRA subsidy surpluses are not direct Exchequer investment, but rather a benefit accruing from investment undertaken by the Exchequer in previous years, they were not included in the total capital investment figure referred to in previous answers.
	The table includes the contribution to capital investment made by recycled HRA subsidy, because while this contribution may be deducted easily from the overall total, its exact value cannot be attributed to any one particular funding stream.
	This investment in the table is a mixture of grant and supported borrowing and it should be noted that capital investment is not the same as capital expenditure. The figures in the table therefore constitute a mixture of direct grant and supported borrowingwhere the Department gives the local authority money to assist them with the interest payments associated with borrowing money.

Housing

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the Standard Assessment Procedure rating requirement is for new house building in  (a) social housing and  (b) the private sector.

Yvette Cooper: There is a requirement to calculate and display a Standard Assessment Procedure rating whenever a new dwelling is created by building work.
	The Standard Assessment Procedure is also used to calculate overall energy performance in terms of annual carbon dioxide emissions for new house building for compliance with building regulations. There is not a single figure for the target level of emissions because this depends on the size and shape of the building and on the fuel(s) used.
	The building regulations set minimum standards. However all new homes receiving Government funding have to meet the higher EcoHomes Very Good 2006 standard that is also calculated using the Standard Assessment Procedure.

Housing

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many dwellings in England have a standard assessment procedure rating of  (a) 65 or over and  (b) 35 or below.

Angela Smith: The latest available data on the energy efficiency of the housing stock comes from the 2004 English House Condition Survey (EHCS). This shows that:
	 (a) 4.3 million (20 per cent. of) dwellings had a standard assessment procedure (SAP) rating of 65 or more and
	 (b) 2.9 million (13 per cent. of) dwellings had a SAP rating of 35 or less.
	The method for determining SAP ratings has been updated from 2005. The 2004 EHCS estimates use the previous 2001 method and these estimates will be affected by the change in method. The updated 2005 method will be used to report findings from 2005 through the EHCS, detailed findings from which will be available by spring 2007.

Housing

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many affordable homes have been built since 1990-91; how many more are planned in each year until 2009; and if she will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: The following table shows the number of affordable homes that have been provided in each year since 1991-92 through Housing Corporation's Affordable Housing Programme, Local Authority Social Housing Grant, Starter Home Initiative and by local authorities.
	
		
			   Number of affordable homes 
			 1991-92 29,674 
			 1992-93 65,721 
			 1993-94 63,736 
			 1994-95 70,390 
			 1995-96 74,530 
			 1996-97 56,506 
			 1997-98 47,269 
			 1998-99 42,328 
			 1999-2000 33,748 
			 2000-01 30,955 
			 2001-02 29,924 
			 2002-03 30,087 
			 2003-04 33,654 
			 2004-05 31,328 
			 2005-06 37,515 
			 2006-07(1) 37,700 
			 2007-08(1) 47,000 
			 (1) Figures for 2006-07 and 2007-08 are estimates.   Source:  Housing Corporation and P2m/P2Q returns from local authorities 
		
	
	These figures include both new build and those acquired and refurbished for affordable housing.
	We are on course to deliver the Spending Review 2004 targets of 30,000 social rented homes a year by 2008 and to help over 100,000 people into home ownership by 2010. The Housing Corporation has a target to deliver 28,000 social rented homes and 19,263 low cost home ownership homes through the Affordable Housing Programme in 2007-08 to contribute towards these targets. Other programmes will take this to 30,000 social rented homes and 24,000 low cost home ownership homes by 2007-08.
	The number of homes to be provided from 2008-09 will be the subject of the Comprehensive Spending Review 2007 in which the provision of social rented homes will be a priority.

Housing

Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what percentage of new homes built in  (a) Warrington,  (b) Cheshire and  (c) the North West were (i) one or two bedroom apartments and (ii) affordable family houses in each of the last three years; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  how many affordable family homes have been built in  (a) Warrington,  (b) Cheshire and  (c) the North West in each of the last three years.

Yvette Cooper: Information on the percentage of new build dwellings by type and number of bedrooms is published on the Department for Communities and Local Government website: http://www.communities. gov.uk/pub/65/Table252Excel312Kb_id1156065.xls. The figures are only available at regional level.
	The following table shows the numbers of newly built affordable housing units provided in Warrington, Cheshire and the North West. Information on how many of these were 'family homes' is not available centrally. During the three year period 2003-04 to 2005-06 a further 1,433 affordable housing units were provided in the North West region through refurbishment programmes which are not included in the numbers in the table.
	
		
			   Warrington new build  Cheshire new build  North-west region new build 
			   New build affordable housing units  Proportion of total house building  New build affordable housing units  Proportion of total house building  New build affordable housing units  Proportion of total house building 
			 2003-04 90 13 112 6 1,454 8 
			 2004-05 43 7 246 14 1,769 10 
			 2005-06 148 14 193 10 2,262 11 
			  Note:  Cheshire county includes the local authorities Chester, Congleton, Crewe and Nantwich, Ellesmere Port and Neston, Macclesfield and Vale Royal.  Source:  National House Building Council, Housing Corporation, Local Authorities. 
		
	
	Through the Housing Corporation's Affordable Housing Programme for 2006-08 total allocations have been given to provide a further 3,800 affordable homes for social rent and low cost home ownership (both new build and acquisition and refurbishment) in the North West Region, of which around 400 will be provided in Cheshire and 40 in Warrington.

Housing

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will reduce the housing unit threshold for requiring affordable housing in new rural communities.

Yvette Cooper: It is for local planning authorities to decide, taking account of their assessment of housing need, and other evidence about local circumstances, their approach to planning for affordable housing, including in rural areas. In the context of a national indicative minimum threshold of 15 units draft PPS3 says that local planning authorities may set lower thresholds for rural areas if this can be justified.
	Final PPS3, will be published later this year.

Housing

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent estimate she has made of the  (a) take-up and  (b) occupation rates of accommodation built under the Government's key worker living programme, broken down by Government Office region.

Yvette Cooper: As at 30 September, 4,167 homes for key workers have been built in London, South East and Eastern regions through the Key Worker Living programme, of which 3,183 have been sold/let with a further 165 reserved. Of the 819 homes currently being marketed, 619 of these have only been completed in the last three months including 487 which have only been completed in the last month, a further 139 homes are three-six months old and the remaining 61 are six-nine months old. These units are in the process of being marketed for sale/let and it normally takes between three and six months to market and sell a unit.
	
		
			  Region  Total newbuild completions since April 2004  Number of units sold/let  Units under offer  Number of units currently being marketed 
			 London 1,353 766 39 548 
			 South East 2,471 2,175 104 192 
			 East 343 242 22 79 
			 Total 4,167 3,183 165 819

Housing

Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many shared equity homes have been  (a) built and  (b) made available on the market in (i) Warrington and (ii) Cheshire in each of the last three years.

Yvette Cooper: The following table shows homes provided via the Housing Corporation's Affordable Housing Programme and Local Authority Social Housing Grant through shared equity in both Warrington and Cheshire in each of the last three years.
	
		
			   Warrington UA  Cheshire( 1) 
			  2003-04   
			 Shared ownership 0 14 
			 Open market purchase 0 1 
			
			  2004-05   
			 Shared ownership 0 18 
			 Open market purchase 0 0 
			
			  2005-06   
			 Shared ownership 0 37 
			 Open market purchase 0 1 
			 (1) Cheshire, for the purposes of this response, includes the following local authorities:  Chester, Congleton, Crewe and Nantwich, Ellesmere Port and Neston, Macclesfield and Vale Royal. 
		
	
	Shared ownership includes both new build and those acquired and refurbished.
	Allocations provided through the Housing Corporation's Affordable Housing Programme 2006-08 are expected to deliver eight new build HomeBuy (formerly shared ownership) units in Warrington and 148 new build HomeBuy properties in Cheshire.

Immigration from Eastern Europe

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will estimate the likely effect on housing demand of expected immigration from Eastern Europe.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 1 November 2006
	The DCLG's 2003-based household projections for England estimate that, out of 209,000 additional households per year between 2003 and 2026, about 65,000 per year (31 per cent.) is attributable to net migration into England. The migration from the eight accession countries is not accounted for separately.

Light Bulbs

Edward Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of light bulbs purchased by her Department in 2005 were of the compact fluorescent type.

Angela Smith: The Department for Communities and Local Government was created on 5 May 2006. The following information covers the period from September 2005 to October 2006, and thus includes data for the Department's predecessor Department, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
	83 per cent. of the light bulbs purchased in the period for the London headquarters buildings of the Department for Communities and Local Government were of the compact fluorescent type and were EU energy label class A.
	This answer does not include buildings occupied by Government Offices, who carry out functions on behalf of 10 Government Departments.

Local Government (Consent Regimes)

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which consent regimes that regulate the activities of local government have been created since May 1997; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: In March 2006 Cabinet Office and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister published a joint report entitled Consent RegimesReducing Unnecessary Bureaucracy which identified 14 consent regimes which have been introduced across Government since May 1997. None of these were introduced by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG).
	DCLG is conducting a review of its consent regimes and we have identified 15 which were introduced prior to 1997 that have been removed or repealed since then. The Department is seeking to reduce the number of consent regimes further.

Local Government Finance

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of total council tax revenue raised by local authorities from charging on second homes in each year since 2001-02; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: The revenue raised by local authorities charging on second homes is as follows:
	
		
			  Council tax revenue from second homes 
			million 
			 2002-03 81.1 
			 2003-04 120.9 
			 2004-05 214.6 
			 2005-06 231.0 
		
	
	These figures are estimates based on information reported by local authorities on the CTB1 and CTB1(S) forms.
	Second homes figures for 2001-02 are not available on a robust basis.

Ministerial Meetings

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what meetings her Ministers have had with  (a) councillors and  (b) officials from local authorities in (i) South-West Bedfordshire constituency and (ii) elsewhere in (A) September and (B) October 2006.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 26 October 2006
	Ministers in the Department for Communities and Local Government meet regularly with both councillors and officials from a range of local authorities.
	On 19 October 2006, I chaired the New Local Government Network and IdeA Mayoral Forum at 10 Downing Street at which Mayor Frank Branston, Mayor of Bedford borough council, was present.

Muslim Council of Britain

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent discussions she has had with the Charity Commission about the Muslim Council of Britain.

Meg Munn: Since the creation of the Department for Communities and Local Government in May 2006, the Secretary of State has held no meetings with the Charity Commission.

New Link Centre, Peterborough

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will take steps to ensure that funding for the New Link Centre in Peterborough constituency is assured in 2007-08.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 30 October 2006
	The Peterborough Asylum and Migration project has been provided with three years of funding through the Treasury's Invest to Save Budget. The grant is limited for three years.
	The project has therefore produced recommendations that identify how its services might be delivered by statutory providers, as well as the voluntary and community sector. Discussions on next steps are currently being taken forward by local partners.

Right to Buy Scheme

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many  (a) houses and  (b) flats formerly owned by local authorities have been sold under the right to buy since the scheme's inception; and what the total value is at current prices of discounts in the period.

Yvette Cooper: The right-to-buy scheme (RTB) became available to tenants in October 1980. Local authorities in England report the number of sales, amount of money received and the discount given to Department for Communities and Local Government on a quarterly basis. This return is not statutory, but generally levels of response are greater than 90 per cent. In order to get a consistent estimate of RTB activity DCLG make estimates for missing LA returns. At the time of request, it is estimated that there had been a total of 1,734,940 right-to-buy sales in England between October 1980 and March 2006.
	Reliable information concerning the money received and discount given on RTB activity is only held from the financial year 1998-99 onwards. In England between March 1998 and March 2006 it is estimated that there have been 408,000 right-to-buy sales raising 20,400 million in capital receipts after discounts worth around 14,300 million given (2005-06 prices). The Housing Act of 1985 allows the Secretary of State to amend RTB discount levels by way of an Order. Full details of recent reductions in discount levels can be viewed on the web:
	http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2003/20030498.htm
	http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/sil998/19982997.htm
	Reliable information on the number of RTB flat sales and the discount given on flats is not available however around one quarter of council properties sold through all schemes are flats.
	 Note: Figures used for the financial year 2005-06 are provisional.

Supporting People Programme

John Penrose: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government in what circumstances administering authorities award Supporting People grants to organisations that provide a service  (a) solely and  (b) mainly for people from outside their administrative area.

Phil Woolas: It is a matter for administering authorities to decide how they commission for Supporting People services based on needs and priorities as set out in their Supporting People five-year strategy. The Department for Communities and Local Government does not have the power to intervene in local matters.
	There are some cases where a group of authorities may agree regionally or sub-regionally for a designated authority to provide services which are of national importance and open these services to service recipients within and outside their boundaries. However, we are not aware of any administering authority that awards contracts to providers to deliver services solely or mainly for people from outside their administrative area.

Sustainable and Secure Buildings Act

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what monitoring she has undertaken of the implementation of the crime prevention provisions in the Sustainable and Secure Buildings Act 2004; and if she will make a statement.

Angela Smith: The Sustainable and Secure Buildings Act 2004 gave powers to make building regulations for the purpose of Furthering the prevention or detection of crime. We are proposing to include security in the code for sustainable buildings that will be launched later this year.
	As the code has not yet been launched we cannot monitor the success of its implementation, but we will do so in the future.

Trees

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has to encourage the planting of more trees by local authorities.

Meg Munn: The planting of trees is a matter for each local authority to consider in the light of local circumstances and taking account of the needs of the local environment. To help guide such decisions, the Department encourages local authorities to develop tree strategies which evaluate the tree resource in their area and set policy objectives for how it should be managed and enhanced.
	At the national level, our Trees in Towns II research has looked specifically at our urban tree stock. It has assessed local authority policies, resources and practices in tree planting and management as well as the quality and quantity of trees in towns and cities in England. This research identifies changes since the initial survey was undertaken in 1992. The results, which we expect to publish in January 2007, will provide information that local authorities can use to evaluate their own tree policies and practices.
	More broadly we have put in place a planning and policy framework to ensure local authorities provide good quality urban parks and green spaces. The recent Public Accounts Committee report (October 2006) on enhancing urban green spaces recognised that good progress had been made, although work needs to continue to sustain and embed quality more widely.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

Islam and Muslim Affairs

Paul Goodman: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what arrangements her Department has in place for offering her advice on Islam and matters relating to Muslims; and who her advisers are on Islam and Muslim affairs.

Hilary Armstrong: The Department for Communities and Local Government is the lead Department on domestic matters relating to Muslim Communities and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is the lead Department on international matters. Where appropriate officials seek advice from these Departments.

Islam and Muslim Affairs

Paul Goodman: To ask the Minister without Portfolio what arrangements her Office has in place for offering her advice on Islam and matters relating to Muslims; and who her advisers are on Islam and Muslim affairs.

Hazel Blears: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given today by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Household Statistics

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many  (a) children and  (b) pensioners were recorded as living in poverty in (i) the UK, (ii) the North, (iii) South Tyneside and (iv) Jarrow constituency in each year since 1996.

Jim Murphy: Specific information regarding low income for Great Britain is available in 'Households Below Average Income 1994-95-2004-05'. The threshold of below 60 per cent. contemporary median income is the most commonly used in reporting trends in low income.
	The data source does not allow us to provide robust estimates for estimates below the level of Government Office Region.
	The numbers of children and pensioners in households with low incomes, in Great Britain, the North and the North East over the period 1996-97 to 2004-05, are presented in Tables 1 and 2. Estimates are shown before and after housing costs.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of children living in low income households 1996-97 to 2004-05 
			  Million 
			   1996-97  1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05 
			  Before housing costs  
			 Great Britain 3.17 3.13 3.10 2.97 2.67 2.62 2.61 2.57 2.44 
			 The North 0.92 0.93 0.99 0.99 0.93 0.83 0.80 0.78 0.74 
			 North East 0.18 0.18 0.18 0.18 0.18 0.15 0.16 0.15 0.15 
			   
			  After housing costs  
			 Great Britain 4.23 4.11 4.13 4.06 3.84 3.73 3.56 3.48 3.42 
			 The North 1.14 1.16 1.20 1.20 1.15 1.06 1.02 0.98 0.93 
			 North East 0.22 0.22 0.22 0.22 0.22 0.19 0.19 0.17 0.17 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Number of pensioners living in low income households 1996-97 to 2004-05 
			  Million 
			   1996-97  1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05 
			  Before housing costs  
			 Great Britain 2.20 2.26 2.37 2.28 2.21 2.31 2.27 2.16 2.03 
			 The North 0.59 0.59 0.61 0.62 0.62 0.60 0.60 0.58 0.55 
			 North East 0.11 0.10 0.10 0.11 0.12 0.12 0.11 0.10 0.09 
			   
			  After housing costs  
			 Great Britain 2.78 2.73 2.74 2.62 2.46 2.35 2.26 2.03 1.77 
			 The North 0.70 0.72 0.74 0.72 0.69 0.64 0.59 0.55 0.49 
			 North East 0.14 0.14 0.14 0.13 0.13 0.12 0.11 0.10 0.08 
			  Notes: 1. Numbers, for the regions, are presented using a three-year moving average, as single-year estimates do not provide a robust guide to year-on-year changes. Hence, figures are not consistent with any previously published single-year estimates and there may be differences in changes over time. In circumstances such as a change in trend, moving averages will show less variation than single-year estimates. 2. The table shows number of children in millionsrounded to the nearest 10 thousand. 3. In this answer low income is determined for children as living in households with incomes below 60 per cent. of the GB median. 4. The North comprises the North East, North West and Merseyside and Yorkshire and the Number Government Office Regions. 5. North East is the single Government Office Region. 6. Numbers, for the regions, are presented using a three-year moving average, as single-year estimates do not provide a robust guide to year-on-year changes. Hence, figures are not consistent with any previously published single-year estimates and there may be differences in changes over time. In circumstances such as a change in trend, moving averages will show less variation than single-year estimates. 7. The table shows number of pensioners in millionsrounded to the nearest 10,000. 8. In this answer low income is determined for pensioners as living in households with incomes below 60 per cent of the GB median. 9. The North comprises the North East, North West and Merseyside and Yorkshire and the Number Government Office Regions. 10. North East is the single Government Office Region.  Source:  Family Resources Survey

Jobcentre Plus

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  in what circumstances Jobcentre Plus visiting officers are dispatched to the home of a benefit claimant; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many requests for a clerical claim in a Jobcentre Plus there have been in the East Riding of Yorkshire in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  how many and what proportion of requests for a clerical claim in a Jobcentre Plus in the East Riding of Yorkshire have been refused in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  in what circumstances requests for a clerical claim in a Jobcentre Plus are accepted; and if he will make a statement;
	(5)  how many and what proportion of requests for a visit by a Jobcentre Plus visiting officer by a benefit claimant in the East Riding of Yorkshire have been refused in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement;
	(6)  how many requests have been made by benefit claimants for a visit by Jobcentre Plus visiting officers in the East Riding of Yorkshire in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement;
	(7)  how many visits there have been by Jobcentre Plus visiting officers to benefit claimants in the East Riding of Yorkshire in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement;
	(8)  how many Jobcentre Plus visiting officers there are in the East Riding of Yorkshire; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. I have asked her to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 2 November 2006:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your eight questions asking about clerical claims and home visits. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	Any person requesting to make a clerical claim for a working age benefit can do so by filling in a clerical claim form. When handling such requests Jobcentre Plus staff will advise that other ways of initiating a claim are available and that these might be more convenient. Alternatives include claiming by telephone, which is our preferred channel, and claiming face to face.
	Our Management Information does not record the number of requests made by our customers to complete clerical claim forms or whether or not a request for a clerical claim has been refused.
	If a customer is unable to visit a Jobcentre Plus office because of a health condition or a disability, and they are unable to use the telephone or ask a third party to act on their behalf, home visits can be made to help conduct Jobcentre Plus business. Home visits can also be made where there is a suspicion of fraud.
	There are currently six officers deployed on visiting duties covering the Hull and East Riding area including Beverley and Holderness. All requests for visits are carefully considered and where the customer is unable to access other channels for claiming benefit, such as using the telephone or attending a Jobcentre Plus office in person, then a home visit would be arranged. I should stress however that home visits are undertaken by exception, most customers prefer to use the other options available to progress their benefit claim.
	We do not record the number of requests for visits and numbers refused. However, I can assure the hon. Member that all requests for visits are carefully considered. The North East Yorkshire and Hull Jobcentre Plus District that includes the East Riding of Yorkshire has, in the six months up to September 2006, undertaken 4,771 home visits. This includes 790 visits instigated after receipt of a claim form where it was apparent that a visit was required to help progress the claim. Statistics on the number of visits carried out were not kept before April 2006.

DEFENCE

Abortion

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many abortions were performed on service women in Ministry of Defence hospitals in each of the last three years, broken down by  (a) the age of the woman,  (b) the grounds of the abortion,  (c) the gestation of the pregnancy,  (d) the procedure used and  (e) whether the operation required an overnight stay in hospital.

Derek Twigg: The Department does not collate statistics on the number of pregnancy terminations performed on Service women. This information is only held on individual patient medical records which can only be viewed for non-clinical reasons with the express consent of the individual concerned.

Afghanistan

Douglas Hogg: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what arrangements were made with NATO allies prior to the deployment of UK forces into the Helmand province of Afghanistan to ensure their proper reinforcement in the event of need.

Adam Ingram: The Government's decision to deploy to Helmand was based on rigorous UK military planning and assessments. Identification of additional and reserve forces and capabilities for deployment to Afghanistan is a matter for the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) using the NATO force generation process. We work closely with NATO Allies and non-NATO troop contributors to ensure that Commanders on the ground have access to the resources they need to carry out the ISAF mission.

Afghanistan

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many members of  (a) illegally armed groups and  (b) the Taliban have been captured by the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many individuals detained by International Security Assistance Force forces have been handed over to the  (a) Afghanistan authorities and  (b) US forces.

Adam Ingram: As of 25 October 2006, 87 detainees had been captured by ISAF. In total 67 had subsequently been handed over to the Government of Afghanistan and 17 had been released. Three detainees, who had been held for less than 96 hours, were yet to be handed over to the Government of Afghanistan, or released. No detainees had been handed over to the US.

Afghanistan

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the military contacts between UK forces and Taliban in Helmand province since June 2006, broken down by area.

Adam Ingram: As of 17 October there had been 292 military contacts between UK forces and Taliban in Helmand province since June 2006.
	I am not breaking this information down by area as the release of this information could endanger operational security.

Armed Forces Pensions

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 17 July 2006,  Official Report, column 207W, on armed forces pensions, when he expects to make a decision on whether any additional recompense should be paid; and under what circumstances interest would not be paid.

Derek Twigg: I refer the hon. Member to my written statement of earlier today. This provides a full explanation of the arrangements for compensating individuals whose pension is affected by the error set out in my predecessor's written statement of 11 July 2006,  Official Report, columns 60- 61WS.

Armed Forces Pensions

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much was spent on the armed forces pension scheme in each year since 1980-81; what forecasts he has made of how much will be spent in each year between 2007-08 and 2050-51; and how many members of the scheme there are.

Derek Twigg: The first set of resource accounts produced for the armed forces pension scheme (AFPS) was for financial year 1998-99. None were produced prior to this. The actual net resource costs (in accordance with accounting standards) and estimated costs (based on statistical and actuarial evaluation) are detailed in the following table. Figures for future years could only be provided at disproportionate cost. The published accounts for the AFPS show the overall provision for future scheme liability.
	
		
			  Financial year  Net resource costs () 
			  Actual costs  
			 1998-99(1) 1,149,451 
			 1999-2000 1,208,063 
			 2001-02 1,381,772 
			 2002-03 1,333,631 
			 2003-04 3,481,850 
			 2004-05 3,294,301 
			 2005-06 4,341,400 
			   
			  Estimated costs  
			 2006-07 4,588,662 
			 2007-08 4,756,731 
			 2008-09 4,928,911 
			 2009-10 5,105,349 
			 (1) The accounts for financial year 1998-99 were un-audited as this was regarded as the dry run for resource accounting within the Ministry of Defence. The current membership of the AFPS as at 31 March 2006 (taken from published AFPS resource accounts 2005-06) is 840,364. This is made up of the following: a. Active members (serving personnel)193,310 b. Deferred members (former personnel entitled to future AFPS benefits)296,633 c. Pensions in payment (former personnel, widow(er)s etc receiving AFPS benefits)350,421

Ballistic Missile Defence Shield

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions he has held with the Pentagon on a UK-based ballistic missile defence shield.

Des Browne: It is not the practice of the Government to make public details of all discussions with foreign Governments as this would, or would be likely to, prejudice international relations.

Concessionary Travel

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has received from service  (a) men and  (b) women on the withdrawal of reverse concessionary families travel; and what assessment he has made of the effect of its withdrawal on Army morale.

Derek Twigg: The Ministry of Defence received a number of representations on the withdrawal of reverse concessionary travel for families (CTF).
	Following a review it was decided not to withdraw reverse CTF.

Deepcut

Joan Humble: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list those of his Department's documents concerning deaths in Deepcut barracks that have been  (a) requested and  (b) placed in the public domain under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Adam Ingram: There have been eight separate requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2000, which relate to the four deaths at Princess Royal Barracks, Deepcut. Apart from the information provided to the families of the deceased soldiers, none of the requested documents have been placed in the public domain:
	
		
			  Request  Applicant  Response 
			  Information on specified deceased soldier; Four families of deceased Documents provided 
			 Personal Document File;   
			 Casualty File;   
			 Mental and Dental records   
			
			  Information on all four deceased soldiers: Journalist Declined: Article 8 of Human Rights Act (right to privacy and private life) and Health Records Act 1990 
			 Personal Document File;   
			 Casualty File;   
			 Mental and Dental records   
			
			  Correspondence concerning the four deaths, including: Journalist Declined 
			 correspondence generated by each Service Police investigation;  FOI section 12 (cost) 
			 methodology of investigation;  FOI section 30 (investigations and proceedings conducted by public authorities) 
			 correspondence within ATRA;  Section 31 (law enforcement) 
			 correspondence between MOD and Surrey Police   
			
			 Relevant files concerning the Service Police handling of death of Pte Cheryl James Father Declined: FOI sections 30  31 
			
			 All records relating to deaths at Deepcut Barracks  Clarification of requirement requested, but applicant failed to respond

Deepcut

Joan Humble: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of those individuals criticised in the Blake Review have been subject to  (a) legal and  (b) disciplinary action.

Adam Ingram: I am not yet in a position to expand on the answer I gave to my hon. Friend on 8 May 2006,  Official Report, column 28W, on disciplinary and administrative action. Inquiries of this nature can take some time and I will therefore write to my hon. Friend once they are complete, and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Defence Technology Strategy

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress his Department has made on the updating of the Defence Technology Strategy.

Adam Ingram: The Defence Technology Strategy was published on 17 October and a copy is available in the Library of the House.

Departmental Travel

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much has been spent by his Department on  (a) chartering aircraft and  (b) non-scheduled air travel, in each of the last five years.

Adam Ingram: Expenditure is not recorded separately for charter and non-scheduled air travel and the Department does not centrally record all costs associated with commercial air travel. This information can only be provided at disproportionate cost.
	The total expenditure for commercial air travel that has been arranged and recorded centrally, for each of the last five financial years, is as follows:
	
		
			  Financial years  000 
			 2002-03 59,811 
			 2003-04 56,408 
			 2004-05 35,430 
			 2005-06 35,811 
			 2006-07 (April to September 2006) 39,846 
		
	
	32,972k of the expenditure in 2006-07 is attributable to operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Discharge Papers

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when 24687829 Cpl Neil Roberts, a constituent of the hon. Member for North-East Milton Keynes, who was discharged from the 9/12th Lancers on 27 March, will be sent his discharge papers and testimonial.

Derek Twigg: holding answer 9 October 2006
	In accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998, I am unable to comment or make public any personal data relating to Corporal Roberts unless the relevant conditions are met.

Exertional Heat Illness

Joan Humble: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many officers and soldiers have  (a) died and  (b) collapsed as a result of exertional heat illness since 2000.

Derek Twigg: Since the year 2000, coroners' inquests have found that one Reservist Private, one Regular Army Corporal and one RAF Senior Aircraftsman (and no officers) have died as a result of heat related conditions.
	We are awaiting the inquests into three deaths for which we have no specified cause of death.
	Comprehensive figures on the number of personnel who have suffered from exertional heat illness (EHI) could only be compiled by examining the medical records of individual patients. Medical records can only be viewed for non-clinical reasons with the express consent of the individual concerned, to protect patient confidentiality.

First World War Pardons

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 17 October 2006,  Official Report, column 1149W, on first world war pardons, if he will place in the Library copies of submissions made by  (a) historians and academics and  (b) governments of other countries.

Derek Twigg: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Flight Training

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many hours, on average, were spent in simulator training per month by pilots of  (a) Tornado F-3,  (b) GR variants,  (c) Jaguar and  (d) Harrier planes during the last year for which figures are available.

Adam Ingram: In the period September 2005 to September 2006 the average number of simulator hours for front line pilots of each fast jet type is as follows:
	
		
			   Hours/month/pilot 
			 Tornado F3 1.6 
			 Tornado GR4 2.0 
			 Jaguar 1.3 
			 Harrier 2.2

Hearing Loss

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 14 November 2005,  Official Report, column 915W, on noise-induced hearing loss, how many people are in receipt of war disablement pension due to noise-induced hearing loss.

Derek Twigg: The operation of the War Pension Scheme and the data recorded in the war pension computer system do not allow the question to be answered directly. War pensions are not awarded for individual conditions, but for the total degree of disablement due to service, assessed on a percentage basis. This overall assessment normally takes account of all conditions that are attributable to, or aggravated by, service.
	Data from the war pension computer system (WPCS) indicates that at 30 June 2006 there were approximately 44,000 pensions in payment for noise-induced hearing loss with no claim for any other medical condition. There were also some 33,000 pensions in payment in cases where noise induced hearing loss was one of a number of conditions accepted as attributable to service. It is not possible to say in these cases whether the pension included an amount in respect of the hearing loss: noise-induced hearing loss of less than 50 dB is not included in the assessment on which the pension is based if the claim was made after January 1993 and WPCS data do not distinguish between cases where the pension includes an element for noise-induced hearing loss and those where it is excluded. In addition, the data show around a further 30,000 cases with noise-induced hearing loss accepted as attributable to service with an overall assessment below the level that would attract an ongoing pension.

Hearing Loss

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what research he has undertaken into  (a) the number of additional claims for compensation and war disablement pensions on the grounds of hearing loss which would be paid if the threshold were lowered to (i) 44dB and (ii) 35dB and  (b) what the additional cost would be.

Derek Twigg: It is not possible to define thenumber of additional claims for compensationand war disablement pensions if the noise-induced sensorineural hearing loss compensation threshold was lowered to 44dB or 35db. However, following a series of meeting with officials my predecessor wrote to the Royal National Institute for the Deaf (RNID) on17 March 2006 informing them that it would cost the MOD in the region of 140 million per year if the Department reduced its noise-induced hearing loss compensation threshold to 35dB. This figure was based on data, for 30 June 2005, from the war pension computer system which shows approximately 105,000 cases with an overall assessment of between 1 per cent. and sixty per cent. with NISHL accepted as attributable to service. It does not take account of cases for which there are no records held on the computer system, or any new claims that will be made if the compensation threshold is reduced.
	All of the research work so far undertaken by the Ministry of Defence into the number of additional claims for compensation and war disablement pensions on the grounds of noise-induced hearing loss has been on the impact of lowering the compensation threshold to 35db. There has to date been no research into the impact of a reduced compensation threshold of 44db.

Hyperbaric Experiments

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he took account of the procedures used by the French Ministry of Defence to ensure that animals are no longer used by the French Navy in hyperbaric experiments when establishing his Department's policy on such experiments.

Derek Twigg: The Defence Scientific Advisory Council (DSAC) reviewed alternative methods to animal research in escape and rescue in 2003 and took into account both the experimental and modelling work being carried out by the international research community. This review confirmed the need for continued investigation into sequential improvements in escape and rescue procedures and the necessity of experiments on large animals.
	UK data are shared with other countries that use the UK's escape system, including France, through NATO and other scientific forum; hence they have a reduced need to undertake animal experiments. We are aware that France, like the UK, has a mathematical model of decompression sickness that is used to support diving but not for submarine escape where the rates of pressure change and exposure conditions are different.

Iraq

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence to what extent British Royal Military Police and Army personnel are embedded with police units in southern Iraq; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: There are currently no British Royal Military Police (RMP) or other Army personnel 'embedded' in police units in southern Iraq. There are however a number of RMP and specialist advisers providing mentoring and specialist advice.
	Six police transition teams, generally made up of four RMPs and four civilian international police advisers, are currently providing advice in police stations in Basra. The number of RMP in Basra was recently increased by one platoon to provide support to security operations in Basra.

Iraq

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how British armed forces personnel are overseeing the police intelligence units at their new offices in Iraq; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: There are no UK military personnel currently providing support to Iraqi Police Service intelligence units. UK civilian police advisers provide support to organisations such as the Department of Internal Affairs, the Tactical Support Unit and, by the end of 2006, the National Information and Intelligence Agency.

Muslim Council of Britain

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much  (a) financial support and  (b) support in kind his Department and its agencies have given to the Muslim Council of Britain in each year since 1997.

Derek Twigg: No financial support or support in kind has been provided by the Ministry of Defence to the Muslim Council of Britain.

National Veterans Day

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many events were held on National Veterans Day in June 2006; and where each event was held.

Derek Twigg: I understand that the total number of Veterans Day Events held in celebration of Veterans Day 2006 exceeded 200. A number of local events were not held on Veterans Day itself, with local communities in some cases preferring alternative timings to build on an existing planned event or to allow a weekend celebration. As the majority of these events were organised without the involvement of the MOD, the Department does not have data on the exact number or location of all events.

Naval Longevity Tables

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library copies of the Royal Navy's annual longevity tables for 1997-98 to 2005-06.

Adam Ingram: Officials are collating the information and I will write to the hon. Member when this has been done and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Sitrep

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library copies of the Royal Navy's monthly Sitrep for each month since April 1997.

Adam Ingram: Officials are collating the information; I will write to the hon. Member when this has been done and will place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Surplus Military Equipment

David Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 4 September 2006,  Official Report, column 1718W, on surplus military equipment, what the locations are of the  (a) six Buccaneers,  (b) 44 Harriers,  (c) 13 Hunters,  (d) 35 Tornados and  (e) 16 Phantoms sold since 1999.

Adam Ingram: The Ministry of Defence does not keep records of where particular pieces of equipment are located beyond the point of sale.

Surplus Military Equipment

David Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he maintains a register of non-governmental buyers of surplus military equipment to ensure that no such equipment is exported.

Adam Ingram: No such register is maintained. There are no general restrictions on the lawful export of surplus military equipment, although specific restrictions will apply in individual cases including the need for an export licence where applicable.

Surplus Military Equipment

David Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he requires buyers of surplus military equipment to provide end user certificates; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: Ministry of Defence policy is to ensure that, where appropriate, robust terms and conditions covering end-use are included in the contract of sale. End-user certificates are required in support of export licence applications made to the Department of Trade and Industry.

Surplus Military Equipment

David Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 4 September 2006,  Official Report, column 1718W, on surplus military equipment, 
	(1)  what action was taken to de-militarise the Hunters sold at public auction;
	(2)  whether the drop tanks fitted to the Hunters which were sold at auction in 2000 were disposed of through specialist contractors.

Adam Ingram: Ministry of Defence policy is to ensure that all aircraft are declassified prior to sale, which includes the removal of all classified avionics and weapon systems. Records on demilitarisation of the Hunter aircraft are no longer held.
	The conditions of sale of the Hunter aircraft passed the responsibility for disposal to the purchasers, and therefore the MOD does not hold records on the disposal of the drop tanks.

UK/US Defence Trade

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the value of UK  (a) exports and  (b) imports of (i) defence material and (ii) defence services to the US was in the last year for which figures are available.

Adam Ingram: The values of the physical exports of defence equipment from the UK to the USA are reported in the Annual Reports on the United Kingdom Strategic Export Controls. The figures are derived by HM Revenue and Customs according to an agreed set of tariff codes for Defence equipment. HM Revenue and Customs also produce figures for equipment imports to the UK from the USA. The figures for 2005 are provided in the following table:
	
		
			  2005 
			million 
			 Exports 309 
			 Imports 309 
		
	
	We only have very limited and partial figures for imports and exports of defence services between the UK and USA produced as part of the Ministry of Defence Estimated Balance of Payments for Trade in Services. For 2005 these data show the value of services recorded under MOD Estimated Balance of Payments for imported services from USA was 456 million and the exported services was 252 million.

HEALTH

Avastin

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to fund clinical trials on the use of the drug Avastin in treating age-related macular degeneration.

Andy Burnham: An outline proposal for such a trial is currently being considered by the Department's technology assessment programme

Breast Care Nurses

Ann Cryer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many breast care nurses are working in the Airedale NHS Trust; and how many there were in each of the last five years.

Rosie Winterton: This information is not collected centrally.

Dentistry

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 15 May 2006,  Official Report, column 744W, on dentistry, how many dentists in North West Cambridgeshire have  (a) signed and  (b) not signed the new contract for NHS dentists; and how many of those who have (i) signed and (ii) not signed the new contract for NHS dentists provide orthodontic treatment.

Rosie Winterton: The following table shows the number of contracts reported as signed and not signed in Huntingdonshire and South Peterborough primary care trusts (PCTs). Information is not held centrally on which of these contracts if any included orthodontic activity.
	A contract may be for either a practice or an individual dentist.
	The number of contracts in Huntingdonshire and South Peterborough PCTs which were signed and rejected in April are as follows.
	
		
			  PCT  Number of contracts signed  Approximate UDA value  Number  Approximate units of dental activity (UDA) value  Percentage UDAs from rejected contracts 
			 Huntingdonshire PCT 24 293,822 4 3,561 1.2 
			 South Peterborough PCT 11 75,659 3 5,604 6.9 
		
	
	Primary care trusts are using funding associated with rejected contracts to commission additional services from other dentists. As at 31 August 2006 Huntingdonshire has recommissioned 3,561 UDAs, South Peterborough has recommissioned 5,604 UDAs.

DHL Contracts

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what contracts her Department has entered into with DHL.

Andy Burnham: Identifying any and all contracts the Department has entered into with DHL would only be possible at disproportionate costs.
	Most recently, the NHS Business Services Authority has entered into a contract for national health service supply chain services with Exel Europe Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of DHL.

Epilepsy

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what her estimate is of the number of people in England who have been wrongly diagnosed with epilepsy in each of the last three years.

Ivan Lewis: We have made no estimate of the number of people wrongly diagnosed with epilepsy.

Free Nursing Care

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what she estimates the average cost per resident was of free nursing care for older people in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: Registered nursing care contributions have been payable for those in a care home providing nursing care who had previously paid for the care they needed from a registered nurse since October 2001 and, from April 2003 for all residents of care homes providing nursing care, including those placed by local authorities rather than that element of their care being provided by the local council and subject to a means test.
	The Department does not collect information in the detail necessary to estimate the cost per resident of this component of the national health service nursing bill.

Health Service Closures (Voter Behaviour)

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether her Department has made an assessment of the impact of health service closures on likely voter behaviour in marginal constituencies.

Andy Burnham: No.

Health Statistics (Hartlepool/Tees Valley)

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many women in  (a) Hartlepool constituency and  (b) the Tees Valley sub-region gave birth via caesarean section in each of the last 10 years.

Ivan Lewis: The following table shows the number of finished consultant episodes via caesarean section for the trusts in the former County Durham and Tees Valley strategic health authority area.
	
		
			  Number of finished consultant episodes of deliveries via caesarean section by trust. NHS Hospitals: England, 1995-96 to 2004-05 
			  Trust  County Durham and Darlington Acute Hospital NHS Trust  North Durham Health Care and South Durham Health Care  North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Trust  South Tees Hospitals NHS Trust 
			 1995-96 
			 1996-97 
			 1997-98 
			 1998-99  774   
			 1999-2000  824 287  
			 2000-01  852 511  
			 2001-02  956 ?  
			 2002-03 1,772  638 1,975 
			 2003-04 1,441  639 1,789 
			 2004-05 1,873  678 2,454 
			  Notes:  1. RXP was set up in 2002-03 by merging RR9 and RTA. Therefore figures for 2001-02 and earlier years up to 1998-99 are the total activity for RR9 and RTA. It is not possible to provide comparable data for RTR in years earlier than 2002-03 due to a complex merger that took place to set up RTR in 2002-03. RVW did not exist prior to 1999-2000. There is no data in the HES database for RVW for 2001-02.  2. Finished consultant episode (FCE). An FCE is defined as a period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. Please note that the figures do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the year.  3. Ungrossed data. Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed).  4. Delivery methods used: 7 = Elective caesarean section (caesarean section before or at the onset of labour) 8 = Emergency caesarean section.   Source:  Hospital Episode Statistics (HES). The Information Centre for Health  Social Care

Health Statistics (Hartlepool/Tees Valley)

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many women from the top decile of deprived wards in  (a) Hartlepool constituency and  (b) the Tees Valley sub-region gave birth in each of the last five years.

Ivan Lewis: The information requested is not available in the format requested. The table shows the number of patients who gave birth from the top 10 per cent. of deprived wards where residence was Hartlepool Primary Care Trust (PCT) or the former County Durham and Tees Valley Strategic Health Authority (SHA).
	
		
			  Data for NHS hospitals England for 2000-01 to 2004-05 
			  Data year  Hartlepool PCT  County Durham and Tees Valley SHA 
			 2000-01 530 3,966 
			 2001-02 506 3,690 
			 2002-03 473 3,538 
			 2003-04 470 3,485 
			 2004-05 518 3,544 
			  Notes:  1. Ungrossed data Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e., the data are ungrossed)  2. Patient Counts Patient counts are based on the unique patient identifier HESID. This identifier is derived based on patient's date of birth, postcode, sex, local patient identifier and national health service number, using an agreed algorithm. Where data are incomplete, HESID might erroneously link episodes or fail to recognise episodes for the same patient. Care is therefore needed, especially where duplicate records persist in the data. The patient count cannot be summed across a table where patients may have episodes in more than one cell.  3. Hartlepool PCT was part of the former County Durham and Tees Valley SHA therefore figures in PCT will also be counted in the SHA figures.  4. Episode type = 2 and 5 (delivery episodes) was used to define those who gave birth.   Source:  Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The Information Centre for health and social care.

Influenza Vaccines

Roger Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects general practitioners to receive sufficient supplies of 2006-07 influenza vaccines to meet expected demand.

Caroline Flint: A letter from the chief medical officer informing of the NHS of the plans for the 2006-07 influenza programme was published on 29 June 2006. This explained the detail of the new programme, reported the vaccine supply issues, and advised on prioritisation.
	A further letter was sent in September by the Department to General Practitioners to provide on vaccine supply issues. This stated that the vaccine manufacturers had indicated that deliveries of vaccine would be made throughout October, November and December.

Myasthenia Gravis

Chris McCafferty: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what  (a) services and  (b) assistance are available to people diagnosed with myasthenia gravis; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: People diagnosed with myasthenia gravis have access to the full range of health and social care provided by the national health service. This will include access to the most appropriate medications and surgical interventions based on the clinical judgement of local health professionals.
	I met with my hon. Friend the Member for Heywood and Middleton (Jim Dobbin) and the Myasthenia Gravis Association on 31 October 2006 to discuss raising the awareness of this condition with health professionals and the public.

National Service Framework for Older People

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to her answer of 27 June 2006,  Official Report, column 332W, on the National Service Framework for Older People, 
	(1)  what proportion of the trusts identified as being part of a falls service were  (a) acute trusts and  (b) primary care trusts; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  how many of the trusts that are part of a falls service provide osteoporosis services; and if she will make a statement;
	(3)  what steps she is taking to implement the recommendations of the audit by the Royal College of Physicians; and if she will make a statement;
	(4)  what steps she is taking to address the gap between the development of falls services and the development of osteoporosis services.

Ivan Lewis: The information received by the Department did not differentiate acute trusts from primary care trusts. Each strategic health authority (SNA) was asked which of their health and social care systems, as locally defined, had integrated falls services in place by April 2005.
	Information on trusts whose falls service provide osteoporosis services is not held centrally. However, an audit of the organisation of services for falls and bone health for older people undertaken earlier this year by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) found that 58 per cent., of specialist falls services have specific referral arrangements to osteoporosis services.
	As a consequence of the audit, the RCP has produced an action plan toolkit to support trusts in developing sustainable falls services. Suggested actions include assessment and treatment of patients and use of fracture liaison nurses as recommended in the audit. The RCP is currently developing a national clinical audit of services for falls and bone health in older people for spring 2007 also recommended in the RCP audit.
	The RCP audit recommended that falls and bone health should be included in the general practice quality outcome framework. Proposals for osteoporosis were not taken forward for the 2006 GP contract changes because of technical problems with the proposed indicators and the degree of priority attached to other changes to the quality outcomes framework for general practitioners (QOF). As part of the ongoing development of the framework, steps are being taken to review the indicators in the light of emerging evidence, and in the context of a value for money agreement. NHS Employers have appointed Birmingham University for a period of three years to lead an expert panel to inform the ongoing review and development of the QOF.
	A New Ambition for Old AgeNext Steps in Implementing the National Service Framework for Older People, published by the Department in April 2006, describes five components of an integrated falls service. One aim in the development of falls and bone health services is to increase capacity in osteoporosis services in DXA scanning for bone density as a guide to treatment. In 2005-06 3 million was allocated from a centrally held revenue budget for purchasing of additional scans in strategic health authority's where there are the most pressing short-falls. Capital provision of 17 million has been made available in 2006-07 and 2007-08 to improve NHS capacity through investment in new DXA scanning equipment.

NHS Estate Safety

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Eddisbury of 9 October 2006,  Official Report, column 628W, on NHS estate safety, how much each NHS trust spent on high risk maintenance in 2004-05 and 2005-06.

Andy Burnham: The information requested on national health service trust spend on high risk maintenance is not collected centrally.
	All NHS trusts are responsible for managing their assets to ensure they are fit for purpose and safe for patients and staff. This will include managing investment to reduce backlog maintenance, including safety issues, with prioritisation based on risk assessment, reconfiguration planning and available resources.

NHS Finance

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding  (a) the Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham University Hospital NHS Trust,  (b) University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust,  (c) Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hospitals NHS Trust and  (d) Nottingham City Hospital NHS Trust received from her Department in the 2004-05 fiscal year.

Andy Burnham: NHS trusts do not normally receive funding from the Department, but receive income for the provision of services from commissioners, principally from primary care trusts.

NHS Finance

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which organisations will be required to achieve monthly run-rate balance by the end of 2006-07; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: Our aim is for the national health service overall to be in net financial balance by the end of the current financial year. Our objective is to achieve monthly recurrent run rate balance, monthly recurrent expenditure covered by monthly recurrent income, across as many NHS organisations as possible by 31 March 2007, recognising that this would not be possible for every single organisation without adverse effect on service delivery.

NHS Summary Care Record Taskforce

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if she will provide for the representation of pharmacists on the NHS summary care record taskforce; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what factors were taken into account when determining the membership of the NHS summary care record taskforce; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: The summary care record taskforce will advise the care record development board on the introduction of the first phase of the national health service care records service by helping address outstanding issues and concerns. Its role is not intended as long-term, and in order to be fit for purpose, members were selected only from organisations which are key to the successful implementation of the early adopter sites of the summary care record. These include primary care, accident and emergency services, and patient organisations.
	It has therefore not been possible, in the circumstances, to ensure representation for all health care professionals. However, we recognise it is important that the taskforce should consider the views of all the relevant stakeholders. That is why a large number of bodies have been invited to meet with the taskforce chairman, or to submit written evidence to inform its considerations. He has already met with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain and the pharmaceutical services negotiating committee, and they have also been asked to submit written evidence.
	More widely, pharmacists' views are being sought in the development of the electronic prescription service via a pharmacy user group. Pharmacists can also attend national events such as the National Care Record Development Board annual conference.

Parliamentary Questions

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects to answer question 89183, tabled by the hon. Member for Peterborough on24 July 2006, on non-UK citizens' access to health care.

Rosie Winterton: A reply was given on thedate for answer, 9 October 2006,  Official Report, column 629W.

PCT Budgets

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she is taking to ensure that primary care trusts' budgets are finalised before the start of the financial year to which they relate.

Andy Burnham: Funding for primary care trusts (PCTs) comes from two principal sourcesrevenue allocations from the Department, and central budgets which are issued by the Department and administered by strategic health authorities (SHAs).
	The most recent round of revenue allocations covering 2006-07 to 2007-08 was announced in February 2005. PCT allocations after 2007-08 will be decided as soon as practically possible after the outcome of the Comprehensive Spending Review 2007 is announced.
	In 2006-07, to help improve national health service organisations' planning, we have changed the way that central budget funding is distributed to the NHS. In past years, central budgets were allocated directly to PCTs. This year we have allocated by far the vast majority of central funding directly to SHAs. This means that most of the central funding for the NHS has been allocated much earlier in the year than in past years. The central budget bundle is being managed directly by the SHAs, and the Department has been agreeing with the 10 SHAs a service level agreement which sets out the outcomes we expect to be delivered from the NHS with this substantial level of funding.
	It is for each SHA, working with their NHS organisations, to determine how the funds from the bundle should be allocated, and what the expected outcomes will be from that funding. Our aim is to agree and allocate central budgets as early as possible for the 2007-08 financial year.

St. Nicholas Hospital, Newcastle

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what level of capital charges is levied on the Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Trust for the asset of the listed theatre within the St. Nicholas hospital site, Newcastle; and if she will take steps to waive or to reduce these charges.

Andy Burnham: National health service bodies and the Department are required to pay an agreed rate of return on their assets. At this rate of return, the cost of capital charge is currently set at 3.5 per cent., so the Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Trust is required to pay a cost of capital charge equivalent to 3.5 per cent. of the balance sheet value of its relevant net assets to the Department. Capital charges in respect of this asset are estimated to be 53,000 per annum.
	The capital charging system was designed to:
	Increase the awareness of health service managers of the cost of capital (including the opportunity cost of having resources tied up in assets and not available for use elsewhere.
	Provide incentives for the efficient use of capital resources.
	Recognise the cost of capital and ensure that this cost is included in the calculation of service costs by providers on a basis which permits comparison between NHS trusts.
	The Government does not propose to take any steps to waive the cost of capital charge in respect of this particular asset, or to adjust the calculation of that charge.

Stem Cell Research

Dennis Skinner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made on the Government's approach to stem cell research; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: In the March 2005 budget, the Chancellor announced the establishment of the UK Stem Cell Initiative (UKSCI). This was a task force, led by Sir John Pattison and drawing on membership from the academic and commercial sectors, charged with developing a vision and costed strategy, covering the period 2006 to 2015, in order to make the UK a global leader in stem cell research. The UKSCI report, consisting of 11 recommendations to Government, was published in December 2005. In their response, the Government accept the recommendations in full. As a result, the Government have allocated an additional 50 million, bringing total investment up to 100 million, for stem cell research between 2006-08.

Ultrasound Scans

Andrew Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the waiting time is for an ultrasound scan in the Chelsea and Westminster hospital.

Andy Burnham: The waiting times for non-obstetric ultrasound scans are shown in the following table.
	.
	
		
			  Diagnostic waiting time statistics for Chelsea and Westminster healthcare national health service trust month ending 31 August, patients waiting by length of wait 
			  Weeks 
			  Diagnostic test  Total patients waiting  0-1  1-2  2-3  3-4  4-5  5-6  6-7  7-8  8+  Median 
			 Non-obstetric ultrasound 1,754 292 281 248 227 202 239 159 106 0 3.2 
			  Source:  Monthly diagnostics collection

Venlafaxine

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence evaluated Efexor XL (Venlafaxine); and when and over what period of time the drug was evaluated.

Andy Burnham: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) published a clinical guideline on the management of depression, which includes recommendations relating to Efexor XL (Venlafaxine) in December 2004. The guideline was referred by the Department to NICE in March 2002.
	In view of the publication of revised prescribing advice on Efexor XL (Venlafaxine) by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), NICE has asked its National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health to establish an independent working group made up of representatives from the two groups who developed the original guidelines. The working group will determine whether changes need to be made to a small number of recommendations about Venlafaxine, and if so what those changes should be. The working group will be able to advise NICE within the next three to four months. In the meantime, the NICE guidance on depression and anxiety continues to apply, and health professionals should take into account the MHRA's advice when interpreting the recommendations about Venlafaxine.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Official Duties

Oliver Heald: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when the website relating to his official duties will go online.

John Prescott: It already is.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Appointments

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many  (a) Protestant,  (b) Roman Catholic and  (c) non-determined applicants there have been to the police in Northern Ireland in each of the last two recruitment competitions.

Paul Goggins: I am advised that as of 26 October 2006, the number of people in each category of applicants for the last two PSNI Trainee Constable competitions were as follows:
	
		
			  Competition  11  12 
			 Number of Protestant Applications 4,794 4,339 
			 Number of Catholic Applications 2,829 3,177 
			 Number non-determined 236 233

Arts Production

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps have been taken to develop Northern Ireland as a production base for the arts  (a) nationally and  (b) internationally since 28 July 2005; how much additional revenue has been raised as a result; and how many new jobs have been created.

Maria Eagle: The Arts Council of Northern Ireland has a range of programmes to support artists and arts organisations. The Arts Council's budget in 2006-07 is 10.5 million.
	In addition, Government have allocated 20 million for the development of arts infrastructure in the Investment Strategy for Northern Ireland (2005 to 2015) and 3 million from the Integrated Development Fund. This funding will increase the opportunities for production and presentation of the arts in Northern Ireland.
	The Northern Ireland Film and Television Commission (NIFTC) supports the growth of indigenous film and TV companies and also attracts inward investment. It administers film and television production funds totalling 21.9 million over a seven year period. It raises the profile of Northern Ireland as a film location through promotional and marketing activities including presence at the annual Cannes International Film Festival. A major conference, Shifting Brilliances, was held in September 2006 to highlight the need to increase the level of network television drama produced in Northern Ireland and identify the issues which need to be addressed to achieve this.
	The Department of Culture Arts and Leisure has an international arts strategy delivered through the Arts Council and the British Council which aims to promote quality arts from Northern Ireland in international markets. Northern Ireland exhibited at the Venice Biennale in 2005 for the first time and will again in 2007. The Department is also in Washington DC from March to July 2007 organising a programme to showcase Northern Ireland culture.
	There is no aggregated data available to quantify the impact of these actions in terms of additional revenue raised and jobs created.

Autistic Children

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much funding central Government are providing towards the provision of services for autistic children in Northern Ireland in 2006-07.

Paul Goggins: The proportion of the overall block grant which is allocated by the Education and Library Boards and the proportion of the overall baseline which is allocated by the Health and Social Services Boards for the provision of services for children with autism is not separately identified.
	In addition to this mainstream funding however, the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety allocated an additional 0.5 million recurrent funding in 2004-05 to improve the life outcome for 200 children and young people with Autism. In September 2006, a further 0.5 million recurrent funding was made available to provide early intervention services for 300 children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders.
	In 2006-07 the Department of Education also allocated additional earmarked and block grant funding of just over 1.5 million to the Education and Library Boards specifically to support provision for children with Autism.
	An element of the funding which is provided within HPSS baselines for Adolescent Psychiatry (2.4 million in 2004-05) is also spent on services to support children with Autism. The multi-disciplinary support teams established through the Children and Young People's Funding Package, March 2006, will also work alongside existing services in schools helping to provide diagnosis and interventions for children with Autism.

Departmental Staff

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if his Department will  (a) carry out an age audit of its staff to establish an age profile of its workforce,  (b) negotiate an age management policy with trade unions and employees to eliminate age discrimination and retain older workers,  (c) identify and support training needs and offer older staff flexible working to downshift towards retirement and  (d) extend to over-fifties the right to request to work flexibly and the right to training with paid time off; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Goggins: The Northern Ireland Office has an Equal Opportunities Policy that is fully supported by Management and Trade Unions. The Policy has a specific reference to Age Discrimination and this has stimulated the development of policies and monitoring practices that:
	 (a) Audit staff records to provide information on the age profiles of its workforce;
	 (b) Continue to promote a collaborative consultation partnership with trade unions and staff to develop policies that eliminate age discrimination;
	 (c) Provide equal access to training for all staff and flexible working policies that are free from age discrimination;
	 (d) Offer work-life balance solutions and fully paid training for all staff.

Giving Children a Voice

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the policy outcomes were of the Giving Children a Voice project.

Paul Goggins: The study Giving children a voice accessed the views and interests of three/four-year-old children in playgroups. One of the key findings of the research showed that children preferred play that allowed them to use their own initiative, imagination and be physically active. This research will assist the future development of Early Years policy and practice.

Hospital Chaplains

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 23 October 2006,  Official Report, column 1547W, on hospital chaplains, what definition is used of reasonable need; and what steps the Department has taken to ensure that this definition complies with equality legislation.

Paul Goggins: The reference to reasonable need in answer of 23 October 2006,  Official Report, column 1547W, relates to where the number of clients and staff using a particular hospital facility reaches a level to justify 3.5 hours of chaplaincy cover. My Department has issued a best practice framework to HPSS employers for the calculation of chaplaincy cover. Church representatives and the Northern Ireland Interfaith Forum were consulted on the development of this guidance. The outcome of this consultation process reported no negative impact on any particular faith group.

Irish Language

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the costs to the Department of Health and Public Safety have been of the Department's bilingual policy for the Irish language in each of the last five years.

Paul Goggins: Estimated costs of bilingual policy for the Irish language provided by DHSSPS from 2001-02 to 2005-06
	
		
			   Irish translations( 1)  Publications  Total 
			 2001-02 13,845 16,346.84 30,191.84 
			 2002-03 72,500 16,652.86 89,152.86 
			 2003-04 26,185 3,120.80 29,305.80 
			 2004-05 8,389 1,203.76 9,592.76 
			 2005-06 (2)8,974 0 8,974.00 
			 (1) Irish translation figures include costs for press releases, speeches, advert translations.  (2) The total figure for 2005-06 for Irish translations is made up of 7,590 for translating press release into Irish and 1,384 for translating press adverts into Irish.

NHS (Legal Services)

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which NHS organisations have contracted for legal services from  (a) MSC Daly and  (b) the Central Services Agency; and which of these organisations had formerly received such services from Brangam, Bagnall and Co.

Paul Goggins: The following table sets out which HSS organisations are using MSC Daly and Central Services Agency for the provision of legal services and which of these organisations had formerly received such services from Brangam Bagnall  Co.
	
		
			   Legal services currently provided by MSC Daly  Legal services currently provided by Central Services Agency  Legal services previously provided by Brangam Bagnall  Co( 1) 
			 Northern Health and Social Services Board Yes  Yes 
			 Southern Health and Social Services Board  Yes Yes 
			 Eastern Health and Social Services Board  Yes Yes 
			 Western Health and Social Services Board  Yes Yes 
			 Royal Group of Hospitals HSS Trust Yes Yes Yes 
			 Belfast City Hospital HSS Trust  Yes Yes 
			 Green Park HSS Trust Yes Yes Yes 
			 Mater HSS Trust Yes  Yes 
			 United HSS Trust  Yes Yes 
			 Altnagelvin HSS Trust  Yes  
			 Ulster Community and Hospital HSS Trust  Yes Yes 
			 Down Lisburn HSS Trust  Yes Yes 
			 North and West Belfast HSS Trust Yes Yes Yes 
			 South and East Belfast HSS Trust Yes Yes Yes 
			 Sperrin Lakeland HSS Trust  Yes  
			 Foyle HSS Trust  Yes  
			 Homefirst HSS Trust  Yes Yes 
			 Causeway HSS Trust  Yes Yes 
			 Craigavon and Banbridge HSS Trust  Yes  
			 Newry and Mourne HSS Trust  Yes  
			 Armagh and Dungannon HSS Trust  Yes  
			 N.I. Ambulance HSS Trust  Yes  
			 Central Services Agency  Yes  
			 N.I. Blood Transfusion Service  Yes  
			 N.I. Medical Physics Agency  Yes  
			 N.I. Medical and Dental Training Agency  Yes  
			 Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority  Yes  
			 N.I. Social Care Council  Yes  
			 N.I. Practice and Education Council for Nursing and Midwifery  Yes  
			 (1) 1 April 1996 to date.

Teachers

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 16 October 2006,  Official Report, column 1012W, on teachers, how many individuals who qualified as teachers in each of the last five years have not secured full-time posts.

Maria Eagle: Leavers from initial teacher training courses not recording full-time paid employment as destination activity six months after graduation 2000-01 to 2004-05.
	
		
			  Academic year  Leavers not recording full-time paid employment 6 months after graduation 
			 2000-01 76 
			 2001-02 96 
			 2002-03 135 
			 2003-04 169 
			 2004-05 230 
			  Source:  Higher Education Statistics Agency 
		
	
	The information held by the Department relates to the destinations of students six months after graduation.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Afghanistan

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much has been spent by the UK on opium poppy eradication in Afghanistan since 2001; and what changes in the level of production of the poppy there has been in the same period.

Kim Howells: Total UK financial support for Afghan counter narcotics between financial year 2002-03 to 2005-06 is 180.4 million. Before this time there was no specific budget for counter narcotics in Afghanistan. This total includes money spent not just on poppy eradication but also on supporting the Afghan Government in building Afghan counter narcotics institutions, criminal justice and law enforcement agencies, and on developing legal livelihoods. Some 50 per cent. of our current annual counter narcotics budget is channelled into programmes to strengthen and diversify legal livelihoods for farmers. The following table sets out the total budget for counter narcotics as well as the budget specifically for poppy eradication in each financial year since 2002-03. The 2002-03 eradication figure includes UK support for the new Afghan Transitional Authority's one off compensated eradication programme.
	
		
			   million 
			  Financial year  Total Afghan counter narcotics spend  Eradication 
			 2002-03 23.1 21.25 
			 2003-04 31.3 1.33 
			 2004-05 33.2 2.25 
			 2005-06 92.8 5.71 
		
	
	According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime Afghanistan Opium survey, the estimated volume of opium cultivation and production in each of the last five years was as follows:
	
		
			   Cultivation (hectares)  Production (tonnes) 
			 2001-02 74,000 3,400 
			 2002-03 80,000 3,600 
			 2003-04 131,000 4,200 
			 2004-05 104,000 4,100 
			 2005-06 165,000 6,100

British Council

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much her Department has spent on the case between Cummins and the British Council since 2004.

Geoff Hoon: No Foreign and Commonwealth Office money has been spent on the case. The claim for unlawful dismissal was made in November 2004. It was withdrawn in September 2005 and was later dismissed by a tribunal. No settlement agreement was entered into. The Cummins case cost the British Council a total of 78,059.20 in legal fees.

China

David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations her Department has made to the government of the People's Republic of China concerning the detention of the pastors Li Ming, Jin Jirong, Wang Yuan and Li Mingbo at Langzhong Detention Centre.

Geoff Hoon: We regularly raise freedom of religion and harassment of church leaders with the Chinese government. Officials from our Embassy in Beijing accompanied the Archbishop of Canterbury during his visit to China, on 18-23 October, and raised the abuse of church leaders and the restrictions against religious practitioners with the Chinese authorities. We raised freedom of religion at the last round of the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue in Beijing in July. We have not raised the detention of pastors Li Ming, Jin Jirong, Wang Yuan and Li Mingbo with the Chinese authorities. However, we regularly raise individual cases of concern and are willing to consider action on any case where reliable information is provided.

Colombia

Jon Cruddas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment her Department has made of the environmental impact of palm oil production in Colombia; and if she will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: We have not made a specific assessment of the impact of palm oil production in Colombia. Our ambassador in Bogota recently raised our wider concerns about the environment and the need to move to lower carbon economies with the Colombian Minister for the Environment and in the media.

Colombia

Jon Cruddas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment her Department has made of the effect of methods of palm oil cultivation on human rights in Colombia; and if she will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: We are aware of concerns that, while much palm cultivation in Colombia is both legal and unobjectionable, some palms are being grown on lands to which title is in dispute. We are also aware of concerns that palm cultivation can contribute to clearance of tropical forest, which may result in the displacement of people living in these areas. We regularly raise human rights issues with the Colombian Government. My noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Lord Triesman of Tottenham, and the Minister for the Middle East, most recently raised these issues with Colombian Ministers during their respective visits to Colombia in September and October. In April this year, we supported a Colombian documentary which drew public and government attention to the plight of the inhabitants of some parts of Colombia in which palms are being grown.

Colombia

Jon Cruddas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what her policy is on the renewal of the existing mandate of the Colombian Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights for a further four years, with particular reference to the provisons  (a) to monitor the country's human rights situation and  (b) to issue publicly available reports and recommendations; and if she will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: We welcome the one-year extension of the mandate of the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR) in Colombia. We also welcome signs that the Colombian Government is increasing efforts to co-operate constructively with the Officein order to make progress on the 27 OHCHR recommendations. We support the extension of the mandate in the longer term. However, the precise nature of the mandate is a matter for joint consideration by the OHCHR and the Colombian Government.

Cyprus

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much EU aid to northern Cyprus has been spent in each of the last five years.

Geoff Hoon: The EU Commission has advised that a third of the pre-accession assistance to Cyprus from 2000 to 2003 was spent on bi-communal programmes, roughly half of which was spent in northern Cyprus, in addition to a special aid package in 2003. Based onthis information, we estimate 1.5 million in 2000, 1.75 million in 2001, 1.9 million in 2002 and 14.26 million in 2003. In 2004, no EU aid was spent in northern Cyprus. In 2005, a special technical assistance information exchange unit programme spent 830, 000 in northern Cyprus.
	Final figures for 2006 are not yet available. But we welcome the EU Commission's recent financing decision for 38.1 million to encourage the economic development of the Turkish Cypriot community, and the favourable opinion of the Pologne, Hongrie Assistance a la Reconstruction Economique (PHAJRE) committee on the second tranche of 120 million on 20 October.

Cyprus

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the Turkish embargo of Republic of Cyprus ships and aircraft was first reported to her.

Geoff Hoon: Our Embassy in Ankara reported the closure of Turkish ports to Republic of Cyprus flag vessels on 16 April 1987. We understand that the exclusion of Republic of Cyprus registered aircraft from Turkish airspace dates from significantly earlier, but we do not have specific information as to when it was reported to the then Foreign Secretary.

Cyprus

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what  (a) financial and  (b) organisational support was given to bi-command institutions in Cyprus by the (i) UK, (ii) EU and (iii) UN in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: Answering this question would incur disproportionate cost: the information on the financial and organisational support by the UK is not held centrally, and we do not hold detailed information on the financial or organisational support given to bi-communal institutions by the EU or UN. Dialogue and co-operation between the two communities at all levels of society will provide the surest foundation for progress towards a comprehensive settlement. To this end, the UK has made financial contributions to the UN Committee for missing persons, and will continue to respond positively to requests for support for other bi-communal activities. Furthermore, we support the EU Commission in its dispersal of the financial assistance package for the Turkish Cypriots and note that improving contacts between the two communities is part of its overall objective.

Cyprus

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment she has made of the effect of development in northern Cyprus on the legal status of Greek Cypriot-owned land, with particular reference to  (a) holiday homes,  (b) hotels and  (c) marinas; and if she will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: We have raised concerns about the poor regulation of much of the property development in northern Cyprus, including holiday homes, hotels and marinas, and particularly its environmental impact. We are also concerned that the development and transfer of much of the land in northern Cyprus makes efforts to achieve a comprehensive settlement more complex, and so underlines the importance of making progress to that end in the near future.

Cyprus

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations the EU has made to  (a) Turkey and  (b) northern Cyprus on the implementation of the Green Line regulation in the last 12 months; what recent representations the EU has made on the use of the ports of Limassol and Larnaca; and if she will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: We maintain a dialogue with the Turkish Cypriot community and Turkey on all aspects of the Cyprus problem, including regional trade liberalisation. We encourage the Turkish Cypriot community to make full use of existing opportunities for trade, including exporting goods to the EU via the Green Line and the ports of Limassol and Larnaca. This dialogue continued under the UK presidency of the EU. We do not have details of what representations have been made by subsequent presidencies or the Commission on the implementation of the Green Line Regulation or the use of the ports of Limassol and Larnaca. However, I would endorse the preliminary findings of the World Bank Report on northern Cyprus that the Green Line Regulation alone is not an effective means of promoting exports from northern Cyprus to the EU. Consequently, we continue to support further regional trade liberalisation in promotion of the economic convergence of the two communities and in support of a comprehensive settlement.

Cyprus

David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance the UK is giving to Turkish and Greek Cypriots to resolve the issue of missing people from both communities following the division of the country.

Geoff Hoon: The UK welcomes the progress made this year by the Committee for Missing Persons in Cyprus, specifically the establishment of a forensic laboratory and the appointment of its third member. The UK has given broad support to the Committee for Missing Persons through our contribution to the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus. We strongly support the Committee's work and have encouraged it to widen its range of donor countries. We currently have no plans to make a third financial contribution to the Committee's work since our commitment of 45,000 earlier this year.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions she has had with the UN on the illegal exploitation of resources from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Geoff Hoon: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has held no discussions on this issue with the UN. Officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for International Development (DFID) have discussed it with the UN-appointed Group of Experts which monitors the arms embargo on the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). We await the Group of Experts' report in response to paragraph 6 of Security Council resolution 1698 (2006) on ways to prevent the illegal exploitation of natural resources from financing armed groups in the Eastern part of the DRC.
	The transparent management and effective regulation of the DRC's extensive natural resources and their trade is one of the major areas where the international community can help the Congolese authorities and people. DFID is developing a programme to improve governance in the DRC minerals sector. This includes support for strengthened revenue transparency, in particular implementation of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative and the development of mechanisms for encouraging responsible private sector, both large and small scale artisanal, activity.

Departmental Staff

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if her Department will  (a) carry out an age audit of its staff to establish an age profile of its workforce,  (b) negotiate an age management policy with trade unions and employees to eliminate age discrimination and retain older workers,  (c) identify and support training needs and offer older staff flexible working to downshift towards retirement and  (d) extend to over-fifties the right to request to work flexibly and the right to training with paid time off; and if she will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) attaches great importance to all aspects of diversity, including age diversity. The Department already has a good overview of the age profile of our workforce and does not need to carry out an age audit. We are working closely with the trades union side on the implementation of the new age regulations, within the structural constraints of the FCO's workforce planning. As part of our commitment to age diversity, we have abolished the retirement age for the delegated grades below the senior management structure. The retirement age for senior civil servants in all Government Departments is currently set centrally, and has been raised from 60 to 65. We are exploring with the Cabinet Office whether it would be possible to abolish the retirement age for the senior management structure as well. The professional skills needs of older staff are dealt with in the same way as all other officers. Pre-retirement training needs are taken very seriously and a range of training and support is offered by a dedicated team. Anyone working for the FCO can ask to work flexibly. We have published flexible working guidelines for individuals and line managers on our intranet with a link to a flexible working network and an on-line discussion forum for flexible workers.

Departmental Staff

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many staff in her Department received bonus payments in each of the last five years for which information is available; what proportion of the total workforce they represented; what the total amount of bonuses paid has been; what the largest single payment was in each year; and if she will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office paid the following bonuses to staff in each of the last five years:
	
		
			   Number of recipients  Total value ()  Percentage of staff who received a bonus 
			 2006 5,097 5,989,142.00 83 
			 2005 5,094 5,765,811.00 83 
			 2004 (1) 5,567,054.00  
			 2003 5,085 4,027,053.00 87 
			 2002 4,753 2,771,753.00 84 
			 (1) Unavailable 
		
	
	The largest single payments made in each year are:
	
		
			
			 2006 25,500 
			 2005 13,000 
			 2004 12,000 
			 2003 15,000 
			 2002 4,500 
		
	
	Bonus payments are not consolidated with base pay and do not therefore contribute to pension entitlements.

EU Presidency

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions she has had with the German government on the priorities of the German presidency of the EU; and if she will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary regularly meets with her German counterpart, including every month at the EU's General Affairs and External Relations Council for discussions on EU matters. Most recently my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary met with the German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier on 24 October during her visit to Berlin. The Constitutional Treaty, Enlargement, Climate Security and Energy were among the issues discussed primarily in the context of the forthcoming German Presidency of the EU.
	We will continue to work closely with our German partners at official and Ministerial level ahead of their dual Presidencies of the EU and G8 next year.

EU Veto

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans her Department has to preserve the UK's veto on justice and home affairs issues; and if she will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: Article 42 of the Treaty of the EU (the passerelle) could be used to change the decision-making arrangements in police and judicial matters, if all member states, including the UK, were to agree. The change could include a move from unanimity, where we have the veto, to qualified majority voting. The European Commission suggested the change as a means of improving decision-making and accountability in the field of police and judicial co-operation.
	We welcome efforts to take forward EU co-operation in the Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) field, in line with the Hampton Court delivery agenda. We would need to be fully satisfied that any changes to the existing arrangements, including a move from unanimity to qualified majority voting, would genuinely improve the decision making process, and that such a move would be in the UK's national interest.
	The passerelle clause was discussed by EU Interior and Justice Ministries at the JHA Informal Council in Tampere on 20-22 September, and the JHA Council of 5-6 October. A broad exchange of views took place, in which there was limited support for use of the passerelle in this context.
	It is, as yet, unclear whether the Finnish Presidency will bring forward further work in this area during their Presidency, but the Government consider the current debate to be over. We will keep Parliament informed of any developments.

European Border Agency

John Greenway: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will assess the merits of deploying UK air and maritime assets in order to increase the effectiveness of the European Border Agency (Frontex) in countering the criminal networks responsible for recent influxes of seaborne irregular migrants into Southern Europe.

Liam Byrne: I have been asked to reply.
	Frontex orchestrates contributions from members and observes on a case-by-case basis. The UK contributes assets to specific Frontex operations on a case-by-case basis depending on the value they can bring to such operations and the benefit of such operations to the UK.

European Regulations

David Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many EC regulations have been enacted in the UK in each year since 2002.

Geoff Hoon: The following table shows the number of EC regulations enacted each year since 2002.
	
		
			  EC Regulations enacted 2002 to 2005 
			  Regulations enacted  Number of regulations 
			  2002  
			 By Parliament and the Council 24 
			 By the Council alone 140 
			 By the Commission 602 
			 Total 766 
			   
			  2003  
			 By Parliament and the Council 35 
			 By the Council alone 154 
			 By the Commission 648 
			 Total 837 
			   
			  2004  
			 By the Parliament and the Council 40 
			 By the Council alone 146 
			 By the Commission 672 
			 Total 858 
			   
			  2005  
			 By the Parliament and the Council 19 
			 By the Council alone 115 
			 By the Commission 599 
			 Total 733

Human Rights

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when she first saw the draft of her Department's 2006 report on Human Rights.

Geoff Hoon: Drafts of the report were submitted to my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary's office at various stages of the editing process from July onwards. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary approved the final draft on 26 September.

Human Rights

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the  (a) role and  (b) work of the Human Rights Commissioner of the Council of Europe.

Kim Howells: The UK has supported the Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner since the creation of the office in 1999. The Commissioner plays a key role in promoting respect for human rights and ensuring access to human rights for the citizens of Council of Europe member states. His role is fundamental to the core principles of the Council of Europe, which the UK strongly supports. The UK continues to work closely with the Commissioner and seconded an expert to his office from 2001 to 2006.
	Alvaro Gil-Robles, the first Commissioner, visited33 member states during his tenure, including the UK in 2004. The UK co-operated fully with the Commissioner during this visit, where he met Ministers from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Home Office, Department for Constitutional Affairs, the Attorney-General and had an audience with the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights. The Commissioner also met representatives from the Crown Prosecution Service, the Commission for Racial Equality, the Prison Service, various Ministers in Scotland and Northern Ireland and representatives of several non-governmental organisations.
	The UK responded to the recommendations of the Commissioner in a separate annex to his report, which was published in 2005. The UK welcomed the appointment of Thomas Hammarberg in April as a strong successor to Mr. Gil-Robles and will give him full support in his work.

International Arrest Warrants

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what her Department's policy is on the trial in their country of residence of individuals subject to international arrest warrants.

Geoff Hoon: The UK is a strong supporter of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and urges all parties to fulfil their commitments to the Court. For instance, with regard to the situation in northern Uganda, the arrest warrants issued by the ICC for several senior Lord's Resistance Army commanders are a matter for the Court. We welcome the progress made so far at the Juba peace talks but many difficult issues remain. We encourage all parties to work towards a solution which brings both peace and justice to the people of northern Uganda, compatible with local community wishes, national laws and the Rome Statute of the ICC.

Islam and Muslim Affairs

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of Statefor Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what arrangements her Department has in place for offering her advice on Islam and matters relating to Muslims; and who her advisers are on Islam and Muslim affairs.

Kim Howells: The Engaging with the Islamic World Group has lead responsibility for offering advice within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on international matters relating to Muslim communities, with the involvement of other officials as appropriate. The Department for Communities and Local Government is the lead Department on domestic matters relating to Muslim communities.

IT Projects

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which information technology projects are being undertaken by  (a) her Department and  (b) its agencies; what the (i) start date, (ii) original planned completion date, (iii) expected completion date, (iv) originally planned costs and (v) estimated costs are of each; and if she will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: pursuant to the reply, 25 October 2006, Official Report, c. 1902-04W
	I regret that an inaccurate answer was given to part of the hon. Member's question. The answer given states that for the UKvisas Biometrics IT project, the originally planned costs were 101.5 million and the estimated costs 121.7 million. In fact these figures should be reversed. Therefore, for the UKvisas BiometricsIT project, the originally planned costs should read 121.7 million and the estimated costs 101.5 million.

Ministerial Travel

Greg Pope: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps she has taken to offset the carbon dioxide emissions caused by ministerial travel in her Department.

Geoff Hoon: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) on5 July 2006,  Official Report, columns 1153-54W.

Nigeria

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the  (a) security situation and  (b) prospect of a free and fair general election in 2007 in Nigeria.

Geoff Hoon: The security situation, particularly in the Niger Delta, remains of concern. There is a risk of further deterioration in the run up to next April's election. Foreign and Commonwealth Office travel advice is kept under constant review. We are in regular contact with the Nigerian authorities and oil companies.
	We are working with other countries to support the Independent National Electoral Commission and maximise the prospects for a properly run election next April. UK support stands at 7 million, disbursed through the Department for International Development.

Palestine

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 24 October 2005,  Official Report, column 77W, on Palestine, what the outcome was of discussions with EU partners and others on seeking compliance with the ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling of 9 July 2004, No. 131; what mechanisms are being used to persuade Israel to comply with international law in ruling No. 131; and what position the UK Government takes on the conclusions of the ICJ.

Kim Howells: We understand that our EU partners raise their concerns directly with the Israeli government. The UK continues to make representations to the Israeli government regarding the routing of the barrier. While Israel is entitled to take measures to strengthen their security, the routing of the barrier on occupied land is contrary to international law.
	We agree with the broad conclusion of the International Court Justice (ICJ), that building a barrier along the current route is unlawful. We supported UN General Assembly Resolution Emergency Session 10/15 which acknowledged the ICJ Advisory Opinion of 9 July 2004 on the legal consequences of the construction of the barrier in the occupied Palestinian territory.

Sri Lanka

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports she has received on the security situation in Jaffna, Sri Lanka; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: We are deeply concerned about human rights in Sri Lanka in general. Officials from our high commission in Colombo visited Jaffna in October. It is clear that the fighting between the Sri Lankan Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in that area in recent months has had a serious impact on the security of Jaffna and its residents. The strong military presence and actions, such as wide-ranging curfews, are restricting the freedoms of Jaffna's civilian population and contributing to increased tensions. We are seriously concerned at reports of large numbers of arrests, and also reports of abductions and disappearances including those of children who may be being made to participate in fighting in clear breach of established human rights norms. The human rights of all Sri Lankans must be protected. Violations must be investigated fully. Those responsible should be brought to justice.
	We call on the parties to the Sri Lanka conflict to respect the ceasefire agreement, cease hostilities and return to the peace process. We welcome the recent talks in Geneva between the Sri Lankan Government and the LTTE and encourage both sides to continue to meet in furtherance of the process.
	We underline our support for the Norwegian role in the facilitation of the peace process. The only viable route to a long-term resolution of this tragic conflict is through negotiation.

Uganda

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the likelihood of a settlement resulting from the Juba peace talks on the security of northern Uganda.

Geoff Hoon: We were encouraged by the signing of a cessation of hostilities agreement between the Ugandan Government and the Lord's Resistance Army on 26 August. This agreement represented an important step towards achieving a lasting and peaceful settlement to the long-running conflict in northern Uganda.
	But, as the violence in recent days in southern Sudan demonstrates, the talks' process remains extremely fragile. A number of key challenges remain to be addressed if the talks are to succeed and all parties must show restraint and commit fully to the mediation process. The UK has provided 250,000 to the UN fund for support to the mediation process.

Zimbabwe

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will make representations with her UN colleagues to the government of Zimbabwe on the imposition of targeted sanctions.

Geoff Hoon: We have pressed for continued international attention to Zimbabwe, including through discussion at the UN Security Council. Most recently Jan Egeland, Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, briefed the UN Security Council on Zimbabwe on 15 September.
	There is no UN sanctions regime on Zimbabwe. There is therefore no agreed basis on which collectively to make representations to the Government of Zimbabwe. But some UN members do have their own targeted sanctions on members of the Government of Zimbabwe and other individuals responsible for the country's deterioration. This includes the EU, Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Canada and associated countries. EU targeted sanctions include a travel ban and assets freeze on Mugabe and 126 members of his regime, as well as an arms embargo. We regularly discuss these with the Government of Zimbabwe.